"He's a big guy" - Dustin Poirier issues honest preview of Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev title fight at UFC 322 

Dustin Poirier recently shared his thoughts on the upcoming Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev title fight at UFC 322 this weekend .

In his last outing, Makhachev successfully defended the lightweight title against Renato Moicano via first-round submission at UFC 311 in January. A few months later, Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision at UFC 315 to become the new welterweight king.

Soon after, Makhachev confirmed that he'll vacate the lightweight title and launch a bid to become a two-division UFC champion by moving up to welterweight. While many believe Makhachev's grappling prowess would be a problem for Della Maddalena, others question whether the Dagestani fighter would hold his own in a heavier weight class.

In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, Poirier broke down the UFC 322 main event. Warning Makhachev about Della Maddalena's boxing skills, he said:

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"I think both guys are great at certain things. It’s all going to come down to the takedown defense of 'JDM.' If he can get back up to his feet, if he can use the fence, or stay off the fence, use his boxing, I think he definitely could give Islam a lot of trouble in the center of the octagon. He’s a great striker. He’s big and powerful."

He continued:

"Islam is not a small man... He’s a guy who’s been holding his body back from naturally being bigger like he wants to be, so he can compete in the lightweight division... He’s going to look like a solid welterweight in a title fight. But it’s going to come down to his ability to get takedowns and hold JDM down. If JDM can get back up over and over and scramble, I think he’s going to give Islam a lot of problems with the exchanges of boxing."

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Michael Chandler gives Jack Della Maddalena "slight nod" over Islam Makhachev in UFC 322 title fight

Michael Chandler recently shared his two cents on the Jack Della Maddalena vs. Islam Makhachev welterweight title fight this weekend. While Chandler gave Makhachev his flowers for his incredible grappling skills, the ex-Bellator champion believes Della Maddalena's striking could push the Dagestani fighter to his limits.

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Chandler previewed the Della Maddalena-Makhachev fight and said:

"It's going to be the dichotomy between 'JDM's' great striking abilities and is his takedown defense enough to stop the onslaught of wrestling that Islam's going to bring?... I think Islam's going to get tagged up a couple times, and we're going to see if he goes to that wrestling pretty quickly. But I think 'JDM's' a monster. I give JDM the slight nod on that one, but I wouldn't be surprised if Islam is holding that belt." [H/t: MMA Junkie]

Edited by Nishant Zende.