Welterweights
Jack Della Maddalena (12-2, 2-0 UFC) vs. Danny Roberts (18-6, 7-5 UFC)Australia’s Della Maddalena impressed on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021, winning an entertaining decision over Ange Loosa, and he has kept that momentum going since joining the UFC roster. His Octagon debut in January was a bit of a layup, as extremely raw newcomer Pete Rodriguez was signed on late notice for a quick Della Maddalena win, but the Aussie impressed greatly in his June victory over Ramazan Emeev. Faced with one of the welterweight division’s more reliable neutralizers, Della Maddalena escaped some early grappling trouble and closed the show with some body work halfway through the first round. All in all, with diverse boxing and some solid skill on the mat, Della Maddalena looks like the complete package as an action fighter at the very least; it is just a matter of him getting over the hump to contender status. His next test comes against Roberts, who has had a consistently inconsistent UFC career thus far. England’s “Hot Chocolate” is also a fighter who can do a bit of everything, but Roberts has had trouble putting things all together. He can look excellent against opponents below a certain level, but fights against better competition have seen Roberts either face some early trouble or eventually take himself out of the fight. This should be a barnburner, and there is some intrigue as to how Della Maddalena fares. He is more than willing to eat offense to dish it out, and Roberts is by far the most dangerous knockout threat he has faced to date. With that said, the Australian does look fairly durable, and he should eventually find something fight-ending given enough time. The pick is Della Maddalena via second-round knockout.
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Lewis vs. Spivak
Nzechukwu vs. Cutelaba
Cortes-Acosta vs. Sherman
Fialho vs. Salikhov
Della Maddalena vs. Roberts
The Prelims