LAS VEGAS – Jack Della Maddalena knows his split decision win over Kevin Holland won’t be jostling for position of the 2023 Fight of the Year, but that’s OK. He did what he needed to do to win and for that, he’s happy.
For three rounds Saturday at T-Mobile Arena, Della Maddalena (16-2 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and Holland (25-10 MMA, 12-7 UFC) partook in an unorthodox technical striking match in the Noche UFC co-main event. Della Maddalena tacks up the strategic approach to Holland’s unpredictability.
“He’s hard to read and I didn’t know what to expect going in there, so I just wanted to be defensively sound in landing shots,” Della Maddalena told MMA Junkie and other reporters after the fight. “I wanted to try to take him out into the last round, but yeah, he was hard to read.”
“… I was trying (to get a finish). I’ve got to be defensively sound. I’ve got to try to not get my head splattered across the cage. I want to be defensively sound and pick my shots. I was trying.”
With the win, Della Maddalena kept his perfect promotional record in tact. Not one for any callouts or name-drops, Della Maddalena didn’t take the bait when offered up other unbooked names in the welterweight division.
“I probably want to get one more in before the end of the year,” Della Maddalena said. “I’ll just go back home, make the long journey home, get back into training and try to book the next fight.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.