- Jack Della Maddalena broke his arm during the last UFC fight
- The UFC star’s manager posted a photo of the X-ray to Instagram
- The Aussie won the fight with a late comeback knockout
Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena moved into the top five of the UFC’s welterweight division with a career-best victory over Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 — and he did it all with a broken arm.
The Next Big Thing of Aussie martial arts, 27-year-old Della Maddalena pulled off a stunning come-by-behind knockout of the former title contender on Sunday in Florida.
It was a closely fought match until Della Maddalena blasted her Brazilian opponent with a knee to block a takedown attempt in the third round.
The knee caught Burns flush and staggered him, with the West Aussie jumping on top to finish the fight with elbows and punches.
After a trip to the hospital, an X-ray confirmed that ‘Della’ had been fighting for most of the match with a broken arm.
Jack Della Maddalena made it 17 straight with his knockout of Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 – and he did it with a broken arm
His manager, Tim Simpson, posted the scan on social media on Tuesday night, showing the broken bone.
“Jack Della Maddalena’s arm broke early in the game,” Simpson captioned the photo. ‘Railed for a shutout in the third. Soldier! PS Gilbert kicks hard!’
UFC commentators were impressed with the big Aussie’s comeback win on Sunday.
“Jack Della Maddalena is certainly on a championship run that captivates the Miami masses,” John Anik said in a comment.
Joe Rogan said: ‘Wow, what a huge moment from Jack Della Maddalena.
“It feels good,” Della Maddalena said afterward.
‘My plan was to come here, get the money and go in. I knew I hurt him. He is the man. There are some scary people in this division, but I’m the f**k king scary.
Della Maddalena called out undefeated welterweight bogeyman Shavkat Rakhmonov after the fight, hoping they could embroil themselves in a title eliminator with the winner to face champion Leon Edwards.
Della Maddalena blasted her Brazilian opponent with a knee to block a takedown attempt during the third round of Sunday’s fight
The West Australian star is now within striking distance of the welterweight belt and has called out fellow unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov.
‘Shavkat Rakhmonov,’ cried Della Maddalena.
‘I think you and I would be one hell of a title eliminator.’
The latest UFC rankings were released Thursday, showing Della Maddalena has moved from a ranking of 11th to No. 5, and is well on his way to a shot at divisional champion Leon Edwards in the near future.
It is not known how long he will be sidelined with the arm injury, but championship gold appears to be just a few wins away.
