‘I Came To Vegas To Fight’

The Australian welterweight prospect isn’t interested in leaving Las Vegas until he’s competed on a UFC card.

Jack Della Maddalena hasn’t given up on getting a fight in before leaving Las Vegas.

The rising Australian prospect was set to face Sean Brady at UFC 290 in a welterweight battle with serious implications for the welterweight rankings. That fight got scrapped a week out after Brady contracted a bad case of staph in his elbow (see the pictures here, if you dare).

The UFC lined up a replacement fight against promotional newcomer Josiah Harrell, only to have that fight fall out the day of weigh-ins. Pre-fight medicals had discovered Harrell was suffering from a rare brain disease, and this early detection may have saved his life.

That’s good for Harrell! Not so good for Della Maddalena, who was left without an opponent. Reports had him continuing to try and rope in a new opponent ‘til the moment the UFC pulled him off the card. Now he doesn’t want to leave without getting a fight in.

“Very glad this fight with Josiah did not go forward, I hope his medical issues are cleared up,” he wrote on Instagram. “I came to Vegas to fight so I am pushing for a fight next week, I want to perform for my people.”

UFC president Dana White reacted positively to the idea.

“I love that,” White said at the UFC 290 post-fight press conference. “First of all, you know how I feel about that kind of stuff. Yeah, I love it. We’ll see. I love it.”

Next week’s card is UFC Fight Night: Holm vs. Bueno Silva from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and Della Maddalena would certainly spice the event up a little. Aside from the main event, there’s no other fighters ranked in the top ten on the card.

Not that Jack would change that — he’s currently ranked No. 14 at welterweight. Based on what we’ve seen thus far, that’s definitely just a temporary situation.