Makhachev assessed Della Maddalena's wrestling level

Before the fight against Jack Della Maddalena, Islam Makhachev assessed his wrestling level.

“You know, his wrestling is good, but not very. He can defend himself, but I will keep trying again and again. If he fends off one or two times, I will continue because I know his weaknesses. If I want an easy fight, I need to take him to the ground and finish it early. People think it's easy to take him down. But I don't think it will be simple because I know that for the past few years he has been preparing against wrestlers—first against Belal, now against me. Therefore, I think he has improved his wrestling skills. He is decent on the ground, knows how to defend and how to get up from the canvas. So I don't expect this to be easy.”