Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena surged into the top five of the UFC‘s welterweight division with a career-best win over Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 – and he did it all with a broken arm.
The Next Big Thing of Aussie combat sports, 27-year-old Della Maddalena pulled off a stunning come-from-behind knockout of the former title contender on Sunday in Florida.
It was a closely fought bout until Della Maddalena blasted his Brazilian opponent with a knee to block a takedown attempt during the third round.
The knee caught Burns flush and wobbled him, with the West Aussie jumping on top to finish the fight with elbows and punches.
After a trip to the hospital, an X-ray confirmed that ‘Della’ had fought for most of the bout with a broken arm.
Jack Della Maddalena made it 17 wins in a row with his knockout of Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 – and he did it with a broken arm
His manager, Tim Simpson, posted the scan to social media on Tuesday evening showing the broken bone.
‘Jack Della Maddalena’s arm snapped clean early in the fight,’ Simpson captioned the pic. ‘Rallied for a finish in the third. Soldier! P.S. Gilbert kicks hard!’
UFC commentators were impressed with the big-punching Aussie’s comeback win on Sunday.
‘Jack Della Maddalena is definitely on a championship trajectory, stunning the Miami masses,’ said John Anik in commentary.
Joe Rogan said: ‘Wow, what a huge moment from Jack Della Maddalena.
‘It feels good,’ Della Maddalena said afterwards.
‘My plan was come here grab the cash and dash. I knew I hurt him. He’s the man. There’s some scary people in this division but I’m the f**king scariest.
Della Maddalena called out undefeated welterweight bogeyman Shavkat Rakhmonov after the bout, hoping they could tangle in a title eliminator with the winner to face champ Leon Edwards.
Della Maddalena blasted his Brazilian opponent with a knee to block a takedown attempt during the third round of Sunday’s bout
The West Aussie star is now within striking distance of the welterweight belt and has called out fellow undefeated fighter Shavkat Rakhmonov
‘Shavkat Rakhmonov,’ Della Maddalena yelled.
‘I think you and me would make a hell of a title eliminator.’
Latest UFC rankings were released on Thursday showing that Della Maddalena has moved from a ranking of 11th to No.5, and well on track for a shot at the division champion Leon Edwards in the near future.
It is unknown how long he will be sidelined due to the arm injury, but championship gold is seemingly just a couple of wins away.
