Jack
Della Maddalena believes he will finish Carlos
Prates in deep waters.
Maddalena will face surging contender Prates in front of a home
crowd in the main event at UFC Perth
on May 2 at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. Maddalena notes that
both he and Prates look to get into a flow state, which will ensure
action from the opening bell. The Australian believes fans will get
more than 20 minutes of action as he will finish Prates late in the
final round.
Advertisement
‘A Violent Flow
“We both sort of get into a flow… Both of us get into a violent
flow,” he told MMAjunkie.com. “I think it’s gonna be
fireworks. There’s definitely not gonna be much dancing around. I
think the first minute we’re definitely gonna engage. We’re gonna
engage and see who’s the better fighter and then build into the
five rounds… I think I’m gonna take him out fifth round. I’m gonna
get the finish deep in the fight.”
Maddalena (18-3) earned a sort of wild-card title shot against
Belal
Muhammad last year, as top contender Shavkat
Rakhmonov battled injuries and continues to do so even now.
Maddalena shocked the world with a shutout unanimous decision win
over Muhammad at UFC 315. After dethroning an ace grappler like
Muhammad, Maddalena was considered a serious threat in his first
title defense against Islam
Makhachev at UFC 322
this past November. However, Makhachev dominated Maddalena on the
ground for five rounds to be crowned the new welterweight king.
Meanwhile, Prates (23-7) has finished all six of his UFC wins so
far, while only dropping a decision against fellow contender
Ian
Garry last year. “The Nightmare” has since rebounded with
brutal knockouts of veteran contender Geoff Neal
and former champion Leon
Edwards.