Latest news with #BenVickers
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Jack Della Maddalena's coach reacts after Ian Machado Garry goads new UFC champion
Jack Della Maddalena 's coach has said his fighter will refuse to 'bite' on taunts from Ian Machado Garry, who claimed he would 'box the ears off' the new UFC champion. Della Maddalena outpointed Belal Muhammad to win the title last weekend, in the main event of UFC 317, securing victory with sublime striking and defensive wrestling. However, Machado Garry was not as impressed by the Australian as some observers were, saying after the bout: 'You have a new champion in Jack Della Maddalena. He had a great performance, but sloppy. 'You have a tall, blonde Irishman who's ready to take over the UFC and get that belt, and I will smoke Jack Della Maddalena. I'll box the ears off him.' Machado Garry did, however, acknowledge that 'JDM' is expected to defend the belt against Islam Makhachev first, when the Russian moves up to 170lb after vacating the lightweight title this week. In any case, Della Maddalena's coach Ben Vickers jabbed back at Machado Garry, telling Submission Radio: 'We're not in this business to be celebrities, and as Jack said in his post-fight speech, we just want to win fights and be the best. 'Jack loves scrapping, Jack loves training. We all love the sport and the process. [Machado Garry] can carry on doing his thing. He should concentrate more on finishing fights, especially fights that he's dominating. He needs to stop flying around the world trying to be a celebrity, and get in the gym and get some power and figure out how to finish fights. 'His time would be better spent doing that than trying to wind Jack up. You think Jack's going to bite on any of that stuff? He doesn't care, man. He's the most chilled-out dude in the world. So yeah, it's all just a bit silly really.' Vickers added that he does not expect Machado Garry to 'ever own' a UFC title, though the Irishman is well placed in the welterweight division. The 27-year-old bounced back from his first career loss, a narrow decision against the unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov in December, by outpointing Carlos Prates in April. That result put Machado Garry sixth in the rankings. Realistically, Machado Garry might have to fight again before challenging for the gold, with UFC president Dana White confirming this week that JDM will defend against Makhachev later this year. Ahead of Machado Garry in the rankings are former champions Muhammad (#1), Leon Edwards (#4) and Kamaru Usman (#5), as well as Sean Brady (#2) and Rakhmonov (#3). Rakhmonov was due to challenge Muhammad for the belt in December, but the latter sustained a bone infection, leading Machado Garry to step in. Then, when Rakhmonov vs Muhammad was planned for this spring, the former suffered an injury. That led to Muhammad's defence against Della Maddalena, as the Aussie took the gold from the Palestinian-American during his first defence. With that result, the 28-year-old Della Maddalena extended his win streak to a remarkable 18 fights, dating back to 2016. That streak began immediately after he started his career with two straight losses.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Is this the best corner speech in UFC history? Epic X-rated pep talk from Jack Della Maddalena's coach before final round of UFC 315 win goes viral
Jack Della Maddalena absorbed one of the great motivational speeches in UFC history before the fifth round of his huge UFC 315 win. The Australian overcame Belal Muhammad in a gruelling, brutal battle in Montreal to win the welterweight title. With four rounds in the bank and both men sucking in oxygen ahead of the final push, the man from Perth sat on his stool and listened to coach Ben Vickers deliver one final, stirring message. Vickers said: 'Alright, listen. You're five minutes away from being world champ. Stay focused, on the cage, just disengage, let's not get back involved. Stay on the jab, busy on the jab, move your feet, never static. 'He's so tired, make him chase you a bit, make him miss and ping him. You are not f***ing tired, alright. 'Five minutes to realise all your f***ing dreams! Let's go. Safety first, stay focused and keep pinging the ****!' "Five minutes to realise all your f*cking dreams!" 🥹 "Safety first, stay focused, keep pinging the c**t! 🤣 Coach Ben Vickers with the elite JDM cornerwork heading into the final round 👀 — UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) May 12, 2025 Jack Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad over five rounds to win a UFC title Della Maddalena took the message, which has gone viral online, on board and did just that in a superb final five minutes to rubberstamp his dominance. His slick boxing proved to be the distance and it was to Muhammad's credit that he didn't crumble. The champion's chin held up admirably but it was Maddalena who clearly won on the scorecards to enter a new era, ending Muhammad's tenure as champion at the first defence. Afterwards, he said: 'Coming in there against someone like him, I had to be smart. I couldn't spend too much time on my back. 'When I did, I waited until I could get my energy back and made a move. 'I wanted to take him out of there. I was gunning for a late finish. But he's tough to put away. The game plan was to stay off the fence. Like, he does his best work on the fence. 'So I was trying to stay off the fence but he was just walking down, pushing me up against the fence. 'I felt like every time he came in, I was able to hit him and then get off the fence. 'I guess you never know when you leave it to the judges. When I finished the fight, I asked the corner a few times and they said, "Yep, you definitely won that."' Next up, it seems likely Maddalena will face Islam Makhachev, who would be jumping up from lightweight for a shot at becoming double champion.
