UFC 322 analysts disappointed by Jack Della Maddalena’s efforts against Islam Makhachev

Two former fighters who served as UFC 322 desk analysts felt Jack Della Maddalena left a lot to be desired at UFC 322.

Maddalena put the UFC Welterweight Championship on the line against Islam Makhachev inside “The Mecca” Madison Square Garden in “The Big Apple.” Maddalena never truly got going, and he was wiped out on the scorecards thanks to Makhachev’s elite grappling. While Maddalena was able to thwart submission attempts, he was controlled throughout the fight.

During the UFC 322 post-show on ESPN, Chael Sonnen said he doesn’t feel “JDM” performed to his standards (via MMAFighting).

“I feel Jack underperformed. We were 10 minutes into that fight… Jack hasn’t thrown a punch yet,” Sonnen said during ESPN’s UFC 322 post-fight show. “20 minutes into this fight, he had thrown a total of 31 punches. Of those 31 – only 20 of them landed and most of these were to the body. I was waiting for Jack to get going. It was the same position rinse and repeat.”

Anthony Smith agreed with Sonnen, as he thought Maddalena would have more success scrambling to get back to his feet.

“I was disappointed in Jack’s output, and his ability to get to his feet… Jack wasn’t doing enough to force Islam to have to work any harder. He was very content to just hold the position. He chased a couple of submissions. He didn’t have to work too hard at it though,” Smith said on the post-fight show. “Jack really never got going on his feet. He only is successful when he punches in combinations, when he is switching stanches in mid-combination, when he is going to the body. He did absolutely none of that…Jack didn’t force him to have to get into second gear – so why would you?”

The UFC 322 commentary team pointed out that Maddalena appeared to be in some pain during the fight. While Joe Rogan wondered if it was due to Makhachev’s leg kicks, others theorized that another potential injury could be at play. Regardless, Makhachev’s performance can’t be denied.