Jack Della Maddalena knew he was in a close fight with Gilbert Burns. So, he decided to leave the judges out of it.
Della Maddalena, one of the most promising up-and-comers in the UFC welterweight division, knocked out Burns, a former title challenger, at the 3:43 mark of the third round at UFC 299 on Saturday night at Kaseya Center in Miami.
Burns was winning on two judges' scorecards heading into the third round. The other judge had the fight tied 19-19.
Della Maddalena rolled out from underneath Burns and landed a perfectly timed knee that dropped his opponent. Della Maddalena unleashed vicious elbows and punches on the ground, Burns covered up, and the referee waved off the bout.
JDM pulls off one of the best comeback knockouts I’ve seen in a long time pic.twitter.com/7d4Q33PAkN
— cotydankh (@CotyJitsu) March 10, 2024
The first two rounds were very competitive. Della Maddalena topped Burns in the striking exchanges, but Burns controlled Della Maddalena on the ground for a few portions of the fight.
With the victory, Della Maddalena is now 7-0 in the UFC and riding a 17-fight winning streak overall. In his postfight interview, the Australian called for a No. 1 contender bout against Shavkat Rakhmonov.
"I think you and me could make a hell of a title eliminator," Della Maddalena said of Rakhmonov. "Let's go."
Burns was ranked No. 4 in the 170-pound division heading into Saturday's main-card bout, with Della Maddalena at No. 11. Burns has now lost two in a row.
