This weekend at UFC 299, Jack Della Maddalena is set to face off against #4 Welterweight Contender Gilbert “Durinho” Burns. UFC 299 is set to happen March 9th in Miami Florida, with the main event being a long awaited bantamweight rematch between “Suga” Sean O’Malley and Marlon “Chito” Vera. The 2 fighters have some unfinished business after Vera TKO’d O’Malley in the first round. O’Malley since then has disclaimed this loss, calling the finish a fluke due to nerve damage on his leg.
Since their first bout, O’Malley has climbed the ranks of bantamweight. Beating former champs Petr “No Mercy” Yan via split decision, and Aljamain “Funk Master” Sterling via TKO in the second round of their championship fight. Vera has also made a name for himself in the stacked bantamweight decision. Having credited 6 wins in his last 7 fights, showing off his impressive leg length with Knockouts via kicks. Such as to Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz, and soon to be UFC Hall of Famer Frankie “The Answer” Edgar.
The co-main event of the evening stars Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier and Benoit “God of War” Saint-Denis. This event will prove to be a test to both fighters in their lightweight bout. As Poirier comes off a ferocious head kick loss from Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje and is looking to get back into the win column. While Saint-Denis is attesting his spot in the lightweight rankings after serving his own head kick KO to Matt “The Steamrolla” Frevola. This will be Poirier’s 30th fight in the UFC, while Saint-Denis has only been a pro MMA fighter for 5 years. This will make for an interesting fight, as Poirier has not lost 2 fights back to back in his career. However, it seems like Saint-Denis’s career has only begun.
Jack Della Maddalena’s Thoughts on Gilbert Burns
Before the action-packed events of the co-main and main event, we have Jack Della Maddalena. Who aims to be top 5 ranked, as he faces the decorated Gilbert Burns. This bout will be the second fight of the main card for UFC 299 after Petr “No Mercy” Yan takes on Song “Kung Fu Kid” Yadong. Jack has high praise for Gilbert Burns as an opponent and has no doubt this will be a challenging fight.
In a recent media availability, Jack Della Maddalena gave his insight on his upcoming welterweight faceoff against Gilbert Burns. Della Maddalena spoke about the importance of his fight against a veteran welterweight, knowing what a win over Burns could do for his career.
“Definitely the biggest moment of my career” Della Maddalena continues “I think Gilbert’s a good fighter. He’s obviously battle tested, he’s very tough, he’s durable and he’s been in there with some of the best. I definitely expect the challenge”
Della Maddalena responds to what he thinks about Burns and to get into title contention;
“I feel like if you can’t beat Gilbert Burns you can’t become a world champion. So, my plan is to beat Gilbert Burns and prove that I belong in the top 5.” Della Maddalena added, “I think a split-decision win isn’t going to do it. I think I need to go in there and take him out and get the finish.”
It seems that Della Maddalena is aware of his streak of split decisions and wants to get that finish. This will be a tough feat, as Burns has only been finished twice in his 21 UFC fight career.
Quotes taken from Cageside Press
Do you think Jack Della Maddalena can bounce back from 2 decisions and get a finishing statement against Gilbert Burns? Let us know in the comments!
featured image credits Embed from Getty Images
