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Jack Della Maddalena of the UFC

The team of former UFC welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena released a statement following a brutal TKO loss yesterday at UFC Perth.

Della Maddalena was finished for the first time in his UFC career, as rival Carlos Prates systematically picked him apart with a devastating array of strikes before stopping him via third-round TKO. For Della Maddalena, this is the first time he’s been stopped by strikes since his MMA debut in 2016. For someone as tough and durable as JDM is, it was incredible to see the devastation that Prates laid as the Brazilian beat down the Aussie for the biggest win of his MMA career to date. By defeating the former welterweight champ the way he did, Prates could potentially be next in line to fight current UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev for the belt, though Ian Machado Garry will likely get that opportunity first at UFC 330.

Team of Jack Della Maddalena Issues Statement

The day after Della Maddalena lost, his team at Scrappy MMA released a statement on social media to let fans know that they appreciated all the love and support they had received following his loss. Between JDM’s TKO defeat and Tai Tuivasa suffering his seventh-straight loss, it was a bad night for the team run by coach Ben Vickers, but the camp made sure to assure their fans that they will be okay.

“We are all hurting today in different ways but that’s the game we play, we will rebuild and come back stronger. Thank you to all (for) the messages of support,” the statement from Scrappy MMA read on an Instagram story.

Jack Della Maddalena Has to Rebuild His Career

The loss to Prates gives Della Maddalena two losses in a row for the first time since 2016, when he began his MMA career 0-2 with two stoppage losses. Incredibly, Della Maddalena won 18 fights in a row after that, becoming the UFC welterweight champion when he beat Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 in May 2025. Overall, he has an 8-2 UFC record with five wins coming by stoppage.

This loss to Prates hurts, however. It’s one thing to lose two fights in a row, but the way that Della Maddalena lost this fight is concerning. There have been many instances in UFC history where a fighter was on a roll before taking career-changing damage in a fight, and this could be one of those times. After not being knocked down in any of his previous nine UFC bouts, Della Maddalena suffered three knockdowns by Prates, while taking plenty of vicious damage to his legs and body, as well.

Taking a look at the rankings, this loss for Della Maddalena will drop his rankings slightly when the updated UFC rankings come out this week. But still, losing to Prates isn’t the worst thing in the world, as he’s one of the best welterweights out there.

Taking a look at the rankings, potential opponents for Della Maddalena in his next fight are Mike Malott, Uros Medic, and Gabriel Bonfim, if he wins his next fight against Muhammad in June, a the UFC figures to use Della Maddalena in a gate-keeping role for the near future after losing two straight bouts and eight straight rounds.