UFC 299: "I Believe I Can Finish Him" - Jack Della Maddalena Predicts How Fight With Gilbert Burns Will End

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Jack Della Maddalena believes he can take out Gilbert Burns before the final bell when the pair meet in a welterweight fight on the main card of UFC 299: O'Malley vs. Vera 2 this Saturday (March 9) at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.

Unbeaten in the UFC, Della Maddalena earned his contract at the promotion by impressing in the Dana White Contender's Series (DWCS), and has not faltered once since he made his Octagon debut, winning six in a row.

Della Maddalena has two decision wins, including the split verdict against Kevin Holland in his last outing at Noche UFC 2023 in September. Now, five months later, the Western Australian is all set for his next challenge after a good camp.

"Yeah, now preparations have been very well. Feeling good. Got a big challenge in my hands. So yeah, I've been training hard and but I feel prepared. We're in Miami now. So yeah, I'm ready to go," Della Maddalena told myKhel in an all-India exclusive interview organized by Sony Sports Network.

The 27-year-old Western Australian has wins against Holland, Bassil Hafez, Randy Brown, Danny Roberts, Ramazan Emeev and Pete Rodriguez in the UFC since he beat Ange Loosa in DWCS to land the deal to enter the Octagon.

Della Maddalena, however, believes Burns will be one of his biggest challenges since his arrival in the UFC as the Brazilian veteran has been in the promotion for nearly a decade now.

"I mean, on paper, I think he's definitely going to be my toughest challenge yet. He's a very highly ranked fighter. He's had a lot of fights. I just think he's definitely on paper the toughest challenge I've had," the Australian added.

"He's (Burns) obviously had a lot of fights in the UFC. He's a veteran in the UFC. He's very tough. You know, he's battle tested. He's had a lot of wars in the UFC. He's finished a lot of champions. He's four champions. So yeah, I definitely expect my toughest fight today."

The the 37-year-old Burns, who is a 3rd degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt holder, will bring his grappling skills this weekend, but the Australian said he has done a lot of training and his prepared to test his skills on Saturday (March 9).

"I mean, yeah, just trying to grapple a lot of grappling this camp. Starting up in bad positions. But yeah, just a lot of grappling," Della Maddalena said on his preparations to combat the grappler.

"You know, you got to be prepared for that. As much as I can for that world championship level jiu-jitsu skills. I feel like we're prepared correctly. So it's time to put the skills to the test."

Della Maddalena is also confident of keeping his unbeaten streak in the UFC in tact when enters the Octagon on Saturday (March 9) to face Burns, who is coming into the fight on the back of a decision loss to Belal Muhammad in May 2023.

"I'm pretty confident. I believe I've got the tools and I've got the skills to beat him. So yeah, I'm confident that my skills can get it done. So now it's just a matter of taking that confidence to fight night, staying calm, and then executing the game plan under pressure," he said.

With 13 of his 16 career wins and 4 of his UFC wins coming in stoppages, Della Maddalena didn't shy away from predicting a similar outcome in this weekend's meeting with an "aggressive" Burns.

"I think this matchup, I think this fight is going to be a finish. I believe I can finish him. His style is very aggressive. He comes forward and I believe if I can time the right shot, I can take him out before the final bell," the Western Australian further added.

Watch UFC Fight Night 299 - O'Malley vs. Vera 2 on 10th March 2024 from 8:30 AM IST onwards LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu).