Is Jack Della Maddalena being disrespected ahead of UFC 322?

Maddalena is scheduled to put the UFC Welterweight Championship at stake when he meets Islam Makhachev on Nov. 15. Makhachev has a chance to win UFC gold in a second weight class. He relinquished the lightweight title in a bid for 170-pound hardware.

Makhachev has opened up as a decent-sized betting favorite for the matchup. During an interview with Bloody Elbow, UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping admitted he doesn’t feel the oddsmakers are giving Maddalena enough credit (h/t MMAJunkie).

“The crazy thing is that Islam Makhachev is quite a sizable favorite, and I think that’s a little bit disrespectful to Jack Della Maddalena,” Bisping told Bloody Elbow. “The man’s on an 18-fight win streak, he just beat Belal Muhammad, he defended all the takedowns there, he’s beaten grapplers before in the past.

“Yes, Islam Makhachev is incredible, and he’d be another contender for pound-for-pound No. 1, greatest of all time, whatever you want to call it. But Belal Muhammad was a perfect warm-up fight for Islam Makhachev.”

Maddalena’s coach Ben Vickers has been adamant that his fighter will be able to clip Makhachev on the chin at some point to stop the fight. Vickers also doesn’t believe that Makhachev’s chin can hold up as well as Belal Muhammad’s. Maddalena defeated Muhammad via unanimous decision to capture the UFC Welterweight Championship back in May.

Makhachev’s own camp has said that the title fight against Maddalena will be no easy task. Still, the team is expecting Makhachev to add another piece of UFC gold to his mantle.

Maddalena vs. Makhachev will be held inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. It won’t be the only title fight on the card, as Valentina Shevchenko will put the UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship at stake against former strawweight titleholder Zhang Weili.