Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC 299, we are going to see a big time matchup in the welterweight division. Former title challenger Gilbert “Durinho” Burns (22-6) will step back into the cage as he takes on Jack Della Maddalena (16-2) who is unbeaten inside the octagon.
Jack Della Maddalena’s MMA journey had an interesting start. He lost his first two professional fights and after those losses, he’s gone on to win 16 straight fights leading him to tomorrow night. In the UFC, he’s a perfect 6-0, but his last two wins have come via split decision. Most recently, he fought Kevin Holland back in September.
This is by far the biggest test in Della Maddalena’s career in taking on Gilbert Burns. Burns last fought in a five-round fight against Belal Muhammad last May and lost a decision. However, Burns injured his shoulder early in the fight and was essentially a one-armed fighter throughout.
Prior to that loss, he had won back-to-back fights over Jorge Masvidal and Neil Magny. Burns is still one of the very best in the world and he’ll look to show that at UFC 299.
UFC 299 Prediction
With Jack Della Maddalena, we know how good his striking is. He has some of the best boxing in the division and he does a great job of fighting with a lot of forward pressure. His boxing technique is incredibly crisp, but I think he’s going to be at a speed disadvantage tomorrow night.
There’s a massive gap in their skills on the ground. Durinho is one of the best grapplers in the world and he’s going to have a big advantage there. Burns also likely has the power advantage on the feet and we know how fast he is. Della Maddalena has been flirting with losses his last two times out and I think he gets his first UFC loss tomorrow night.
I just think Burns is going to be able to mix in his grappling and use his speed to frustrate Della Maddalena throughout the three rounds. It’ll be competitive, but I’m going with Durinho on this one.
Prediction: Gilbert Burns by Decision