After an action-packed International Fight Week, it is now time to head back to the Apex for UFC Vegas 77.
Saturday’s card will be headlined by former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm, who is stepping into the main event spotlight once again. Holm will look to make it two wins in a row, since 2020, against the No. 10 Brazilian bantamweight Mayra Bueno Silva.
One of the bigger storylines going into this fight night is Australian welterweight prospect Jack Della Maddalena.
Jack Della Maddalena, or “JDM”, was supposed to take part in last week’s stacked UFC 290 fight card at T-Mobile Arena. Fans were looking forward to his fight against No. 8 UFC welterweight contender Sean Brady. This was going to be JDM’s biggest test to date, and a potential chance to put himself a step closer into title contention at 170 lbs. Unfortunately, Brady was forced to withdraw from the fight due to injury.
When the news broke, a couple of fighters threw their names in the hat as short notice replacements such as Joaquin Buckley, Chris Curtis, and Kevin Holland, who is already booked to fight against Michael Chiesa at UFC 291. “If I had the choice, I would have picked probably the highest ranked guy.” said Della Maddalena at UFC Vegas 77 media day on Wednesday.
The UFC opted to give 7-0 fighter Josiah Harrell the opportunity to make his UFC debut at the sold-out T-Mobile Arena on short notice against Jack Della Maddalena. Come Friday morning before UFC 290, the weigh-ins were held at the UFC Apex as both Della Maddalena and Harrell made weight. A couple hours after weigh-ins, Harrell was forced to withdraw due to the doctors discovering moyamoya disease in his pre-fight MRI. The bout was scrapped from the card and Della Maddalena could no longer be a part of the card.
JDM was very adamant about fighting in Las Vegas since he made the long trip. Fortunately for him, UFC Vegas 77 followed UFC 290 and the UFC found him a new opponent.
Enter Bassil Hafez. Like Harrell, Bassil Hafez received the call to make his UFC debut against Della Maddalena on short notice. Hafez enters this fight 8-3. Both fighters made weight and came in at 171 pounds.
“When we saw the name we were stoked and said, ‘yes,’ then just watched some of his fights to get an idea of what we are in for,” Della Maddalena said. Jack Della Maddalena looks to make it a 15-fight winning streak come Saturday night at the UFC Apex.
Comment
Comments