JACK DELLA MADALLENA will bid to become the new king of the UFC’s welterweight division in his first fight in over a year.
And he’s battled back from a potentially career-ending infection to bid to become only the third Australian to win a title in MMA’s top promotion.
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The slick southpaw gets his shot at glory early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 315 in Montreal, where he’ll bid to end Belal Muhammad’s reign as 170lbs king.
His shot at UFC gold comes 14 months after he broke his left arm in his career-best win over former title challenger Gilbert Burns, which required surgery.
But ten days after going under the knife last May, he was forced to have a second surgery as an infection caused the wound to split.
Della Maddalenna would spend nine days in the hospital on a mixture of IV and oral antibiotics before he was allowed home.
But he wasn’t out of the woods just yet, with multiple abscesses popping up in the wound over the next five weeks.
In an exclusive interview with SunSport, he said of the ordeal: “It got pretty bad, you know.
“The infection, the broken arm and [then I] went back and I had surgery.
“And then ten days later, the whole wound, it’s a pretty big scar, and the whole thing just started splitting.
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“And it was sort of like oozing fluid and got pretty nasty.
“And then I went back to the surgeon, he just looked at it straight away and said, ‘Oh, yeah, this looks like an infection.’ It got nasty.
“The infection somehow got all the way to the bone. It was just one of those things.
“I thought it was just unlucky, you know. It’s one of those risks you take with surgeries.
“And I was unlucky enough to bear the full brunt of that sort of situation. But then, it was just trying to fight the infection.
“It was hard to get rid of the infection.
“It was a lot of antibiotics and a few surgeries to sort of get rid of the infected bone, but we got through it in the end.
The recovery process was an emotional rollercoaster for JDM, who admitted: “It was hard. I had ups and downs.
“Coming off such a big win and then having the injury, which was no big deal, like I’ve had injuries before.
“But then getting the news that it was infected, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s interesting.’ So that was another down.
“And then just not being able to knock the infection, it was pretty devastating. Especially as I was eager to get back in there.
“I had plans of competing a lot last year, but I’ve just rolled with it. I just had to stay strong, you know.
It was sort of like oozing fluid and got pretty nasty.”
Jack Della Maddalena on his arm infection
“I was lucky enough that I had some distractions. I had my daughter, my second child was born, so that was a bit of a distraction here.
“But I just stayed calm and I thought, ‘If it’s meant to be, it will be, and I’ll be back in there.’ I’m glad everything did work out.”
Palestinian-born American will look to make the second defence of the belt he wrestled from Leon Edwards’ clutches in Manchester last May.
And JDM, unlike many others, is refusing to underestimate the size of the job he’ll have on his hands in the Montreal melee.
“It was a tough performance,” Della Maddalena said of Muhammad’s title win. “Belal is very good, he doesn’t get the props he deserves.
“He’s a good fighter and he comes in always with a good game plan and he’s a good and well-rounded fighter.
“It was a tough fight. I think Belal just went in there and I think he had the right game plan to stifle Leon’s advantages.
“It wasn’t his [Edwards’] best performance, of course. He’s had a lot of good performances.
“But, I guess anyone can win on any given night. And I think that night was definitely Belal’s night.”
Catch UFC 315: MUHAMMAD vs. DELLA MADDALENA at 3AM this Sunday, May 11th, on TNT Sports 1.
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