A respectful rivalry between welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev nonetheless required Dana White to maintain an in depth eye on issues after the fighters competing within the UFC 322 primary occasion refused to interrupt eye contact throughout a tense faceoff on Thursday.
As the principle occasion fighters took the stage after the pre-fight press convention at Madison Sq. Backyard, Della Maddalena and Makhachev got here nose-to-nose however there was no pushing or shoving.
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Issues obtained fascinating when White instructed the fighters to face ahead for a photograph alternative as he stepped out of the way in which.
However Della Maddalena and Makhachev simply saved staring one another down with out both one prepared to look away, which required White to shortly leap again in between them to verify there was no bodily altercation.
Even when each fighters have been handed title belts — technically Makhachev isn’t a champion any longer after relinquishing his light-weight title to maneuver to welterweight — Della Maddalena simply saved staring down the Russian with lasers in his eyes.
The fighters lastly broke aside earlier than turning to go away the stage following the tense staredown.
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The struggle serves as Della Maddalena’s first title protection after defeating Belal Muhammad to grow to be champion again in Could. The Australian slugger is undefeated within the UFC with an 18 struggle win streak total in his profession.
As for Makhachev, he stays one of the adorned fighters on the complete UFC roster after reigning over the light-weight division with 4 title defenses whereas he was champion. Now he takes a stab at welterweight with hopes of changing into simply the eleventh fighter in UFC historical past to carry titles in two totally different divisions.
