“No bad blood. I’m coming with vicious intentions. That’s the fight game.” Jack Della Maddalena came forth with nothing but confidence while talking about his game plan against Belal Muhammad. The Aussie claimed that he would stop the champion’s takedowns and was better on the feet. ‘Remember The Name’ was already in a mix after he promised not to use his wrestling skills at UFC 315 and instead, showcase his “Canelo Hands” on Saturday night. But now, his troubles went up a notch when his issues with southpaws came into the spotlight.
It’s true that the welterweight champion has faced and defeated many southpaws in the past. The most prominent of them is Leon Edwards, with whom Muhammad fought twice. One of those bouts ended as a no-contest due to an eye, while the other brought him the welterweight belt at UFC 304 last year. The reigning champ has beaten orthodox fighters like Randy Brown, Jordan Mein, and Augusto Montano, as well.
However, the 170lbs kingpin did have some troubles with the southpaws. The Palestinian champion has a professional MMA record of 24 wins and 3 defeats. 2 out of these defeats came at the hands of southpaws. If we had to name them, they were none other than Alan Jouban and Geoff Neal. Moreover, he was able to eke out a difficult split decision win against an orthodox fighter in the form of Tim Means. Moreover, one of the prominent orthodox guys to beat Muhammad is Vicente Luque.
This stat was highlighted just 2 days before Muhammad’s matchup against Della Maddalena, who is a switch stance fighter. An X account by the name of @justinHerronUFC shared a picture of the #5 welterweight contender as he faced off against ‘Remember The Name’. But in the caption, the story took a grave turn for Muhammad. The caption read, “Yep, the kid did his homework. Look, he came out southpaw. Belal against southpaws: Neal (battered for 3 rounds and dropped twice); Jouban (dropped 3 times); Tim Means (split decision).”
Yep the kid did his homework. Look he came out southpaw.
Belal against southpaws:
-Neal (battered for 3 rounds and dropped twice)
-Jouban (dropped 3 times)
-Tim Means (split decision)#UFC315 pic.twitter.com/vy0FiqhA0J
— Don Bobby (@JustinHerronUFC) May 8, 2025
Soon after the post hit the social media platform, the fighting community took control of the comments section. They began to discuss the welterweight champion’s stance against southpaws. Let’s see what the fans had to say, shall we?
Fans remind Belal Muhammad of his challenges against southpaws before UFC 315
While it was believed that Muhammad’s camp apparently overlooked the stance detail about JDM, many fans brought in PTSD for the champion. Some of them even hinted at the possibility of Conor McGregor’s iconic KO over Jose Aldo repeating itself during the face-off. A comment read, “Belal was ready to let that left hand go as soon as he recognised the southpaw stance, he got PTSD, I could see a potential Aldo-esque KO in the first 20 seconds…”
The PTSD was likely a reflection of Luque’s round 1 KO over Muhammad. While the Palestinian champion left his left arm twitching, some of the fans pointed out that while Della Maddalena was a southpaw, Edwards and Luque were also the same. The comment read, “JDM is literally a natural southpaw anyway, that’s his normal stance king plus Leon was a southpaw, same with Vicente Lique.”
Nevertheless, a few of the fans did question the former welterweight champion’s natural fighting stance. One of the fans sarcastically asked, “Is Leon Edwards… not a south paw?” Another fan added, “Leon’s a southpaw?” However, the fighting community seemed to have found its true champion. And it was not Muhammad.
One of the fans hailed the Australian fighter and predicted his victory. The fan commented, “JDM finishes ‘Forget The Name’ in 2 days’ time.” Another fan commended the observation and hoped for JDM’s win. The comment went like, “That’s actually a really good observation. Hope JDM wins.” Meanwhile, another fan hilariously wrote, “That hook cross gonna hit like an ice cold prime I like my cheese drippy bruh.”
What do you think will happen at the main event for UFC 315? Will Muhammad be able to defeat Della Maddalena in his first welterweight title defense? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post All Is Not Well in Belal Muhammad’s Fight Camp as Overlooked Detail at UFC 315 Press Conference Sparks ‘PTSD’ Debate appeared first on EssentiallySports.
