ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto speaks with welterweight Jack Della Maddalena after returning to Australia following his UFC 299 …
what’s up guys Brett okamoto from ESPN joined by uh maybe the the toughest individual in the UFC he is UFC welterweight Jack de Melina and Jack uh thank you so much for joining us man you are back in Perth after a big win in UFC 299 in Miami how’s it feel to be uh to be home and obviously uh you flew a long way but you flew away with a a big victory so that’s got to make the ride a little sweeter yeah for sure it’s not always nice to get home than just settle in back home I see the fan but yeah it was also it’s a long journey but yeah getting the victory obviously made that Journey a lot sweeter so the the victory makes the plane ride a little sweeter but uh the broken arm I’m sure made the plane ride a little bit worse what is that like it’s about 30 hours right I mean 30 hours yeah all up like from start to like leave getting to the Miami Airport then getting to Perth Airport is yeah about 30 something hours maybe 32 hours or something with a big stop over so yeah long long time to be on a plane healthy let alone with a broken arm when uh when did you leave Miami did you leave the day after the fight we left Sunday no like four Saturday night left Sunday night so left Sunday night had you I mean as obviously we’ve all seen now the X-ray that Tim Simpson your manager shared did you get that x-ray probably back home or did you get it in Miami before you went n i was um just got got it back home I was I sort of was pretty certain it was broken I kept telling everyone I’m pretty sure it’s broken but if I get the scan here I still want to get home so it wouldn’t have changed anything so just bit the bullet and yeah it was uh it was all right had a couple glasses of wine on the flight and made it pretty easy are you they got you in first class or you sitting in and Coach with uh half the half the trip was business class half the trip was uh not so it was bit of sweet how painful is it how painful is it just sitting there with a broken arm did you honestly it was all right to be honest like the pain had sort of I got some pain killers so the pain had sort of pass from the night the night before was pretty sore it was just more being cramped up in anytime I moved obviously I could feel it it hurt but and even the pre it started my hand really got fat on the Fly just started swelling up I think from the pressure but it all right it’s yeah no honestly it would have been a lot more painful had had I have lost the Gilbert Burns for sure yeah for definitely a win can go a long way in U and making it feel a lot better I’m sure I’ve rewatched the fight sense um do you know do you have do you feel pretty certain when it happened uh not really I it was definitely uh I felt it going into the third round but yeah I noticed watching it back like every time I was southp Gilbert kicked me straight in the body so I think that was obviously uh well uh it was a good idea I think every time I went sappur he punted me and body I’m sure it was one of the body the kicks to the uh forarm that did it that was some pretty I can’t remember the exact kick but yeah that was some pretty powerful kicks that I felt on the forarm when I was watching it I I thought there was a chance that it might have happened essentially immediately because he did throw some early kicks and you did block them and he did continue that in then the first two rounds but some of the ones that you caught really kind of flush I thought happened in basically the first 30 seconds like do you recall at all feeling any pain during the fight uh no not no the only time I remember feeling pain was probably going out to the third round I felt not necessarily that it was broken but I just felt that my uh my grip had sort of uh just gone I couldn’t really grip anything but yeah I thought I thought it may have just been a solid bruise you know definitely some of those skids that were solid thuds and I could took him right on the forearm so definitely knew my forearm had been uh bruised at least but I didn’t know it was that bad after seeing the X-ray and that’s a clean break are you a little surprised that you weren’t in more pain I mean it’s not like it was a a slow paced fight like you were in the middle of kind of a firefight with a broken arm are you a little surprised that you didn’t notice more pretty surprising but to be honest I feel like the second uh the uh ref pulled me off and yeah maybe five seconds after that the pain really started to sink in but yeah adrenaline it’s a hell of a drug I feel pretty uh pretty sweet um this has got I would imagine this is the uh worst injury that you had during a fight in your career my soor say that again is this the worst injury that you had during a fight in your career I would imagine so yeah uh yeah it is I’ve broken I’ve broken uh hands before in fights but uh yeah this is uh definitely so that was my boy on wild yeah um yeah definitely the worst injury I’ve had in a fight to be honest outside of hands I would like you know all fighters have a pretty high pain threshold I would say um would you say yours is uh have you been aware that you have a a significantly higher pain threshold is that like something that that you already knew prior to this not really I never really had any uh too bad of injuries in my career I’ve been pretty lucky touch wood so no it’s not something I’ve uh known but I don’t even think it was it I don’t even think I’ve got a higher pain threshold I find I get a bit freaked out with needles it was more the uh I think the adrenaline just and you know what and when you’re in a fight I’m pretty focused on winning you know so I was just focused on getting the win putting all the uh any other feelings to the back of my head and just going forward so but it def it was sore after so straight away crazy thing is that you you kept throwing it right I mean like like even in the third round you’re still throwing punches with your left arm and then you were even burying weight on it like in some of the scrambles like you’re posturing on your left arm like yeah I mean I would even think like a doctor seeing that would just be like dude you’re kind of a freaking nature I mean that just seems like that shouldn’t be possible for you to be in the middle of scrambles with a BJJ black belt like Gilbert on on a on a broken for sure watching it back you know and I yes I was trying to P I’ve been trying to sort of pinpoint the uh shot that broke but then just thinking like the last round EX for I probably spent like at least 45 second posted up on my left arm so yeah pretty it’s crazy but yeah adrenaline you know I think I was just had one Focus did you go to the hospital on Saturday night no I I chose not to I didn’t really I didn’t think uh I knew it was probably not good but I didn’t see I just wanted to get home so I couldn’t see the uh benefit in going you know they almost did they were trying to not get me on the flight cuz I didn’t have a doctor’s note but UFC pulled through last minute and got me a doctor’s not so yeah it’s all right is it um does it I mean I got to of course like you would prefer your arm not to be broken but I guess uh because it was and you beat Gilbert burns with a broken arm like does it tell you something about yourself does it make the win like like bigger in your mind does it like uh does it does it give you confidence to be like man I can go and I really know I can go through a level of adversity like you probably knew beforehand but then having done it like does it add something to the victory or does it I mean it’s cool it’s um yeah not really I don’t like being it’s gonna be I hate being stuck still you know not been able to train for a bit of time so it’s uh pretty sad in that regard but I mean it’s good it’s cool knowing that yeah during a fight you could I I guess I can be pretty injured but I’ll be able to uh yeah drenal him pull me through and I’ll be I’ll be good so but I mean yeah I guess bit of sweet it’s pretty sad I don’t want to be City I want to start training you I got some tough fights in front of me but maybe forced rest is a uh it’s a blessing and disguise so on just the topic of like your recovery uh Tim told me that you’ll be having surgery next week what does the recovery look like for this this injury um I think the doc said so yeah 12 weeks I’m pretty much good to uh go so obviously I just need to focus on rehab not uh yeah just focus heavily on rehab get it nice and strong and then 12 weeks I feel like I’m good to start camp and get back in there what what the surgery I imagine what it just puts like a rod in your arm and then the rod stays there right even like the rod stays there for the rest of your life is it kind of the rod go yeah the rod the rod goes in on Tuesday I got some ligament damage in my thumb as well so they’re going to reattach some ligament and then and uh yeah the doctor sort of said take it out they’re sort of conflicting uh conflicting doctors saying different stuff so but yeah probably got to take it out I think the idea is if it if it happens again with a rod in there it’s uh pretty uh pretty tough to uh sort out makes it that much more complicated so probably get it in there get a nice and strong take it out and then be good to go in 12 weeks that escape and reverse that you had on Gilbert to set up the knee I mean that’s got to be one of the prettiest things you’ve done in the Octagon right I mean just the way in which you were able to to reverse that position what did you think of that uh that sequence that led to to you getting win over gilber yeah I was pretty stroked with I was just waiting for my time I thought I could uh get some elevation in his hips and uh get out of there I was just waiting but yeah I like practicing reversals and that sort of technique so yeah I just bit my time and then I knew if I got to the feet at one more point I feel like I had a good chance to uh get him out of there so just waited and then went for but yeah I was pretty stoked that KN that you landed when he shot back in is that something that you just kind of like uh was that just instinct or was that something you had kind of drilled because you actually hit him with a knee after a scramble in the first round too so was that something you kind of banked on or is that just in the moment it was something I thought was there I could I felt like I throughout the fight I could see it and I was just I didn’t want to uh I knew it was a risky one you know because you throw and it doesn’t land he has a good solid chance of getting my hip so but I thought it was the right time you know I thought i’ had just gotten up so I thought there was probably a high chance that he’ just shoot again out of instinct so just went for it how did you feel about the performance start to finish I feel I feel pretty uh good with the performance you know I feel like I could have been a bit more aggressive and get away from him in the takedowns but I knew had three rounds you know so I didn’t want to make do anything too too dangerous just yeah I was pretty happy I thought I was beating on the feed he landed some good shots but I feel like I didn’t take any damage on the ground so I was happy were you surprised when you found out that he was ahead both rounds did you feel like it was a fight that you were winning like no um I thought honestly the way I would think I thought I was beating him in the fight you know I thought I was out damaging him he was able to hold me didn’t let much damage but I’m also understand how the judging works so going to the third round I knew most likely I was down two rounds just from uh being controlled for a small period of each round I thought that would be enough to definitely sway judges so going into the Final Round the Corner told me and I agree with them that yeah we need to get the finish and they gave me the right advice they sort of amped me up to go after the finish and yeah is that the best feeling you’ve had so far in your career like right at right when the referee pulls you off of that one was it is that one was for sure I mean honestly that moment where rles you off or it feels pretty similar it’s just like a nice feeling it’s getting the Finish is pretty cool and but yeah obviously yeah the biggest I always want my next fight to the biggest fight so yeah that moment is definitely yeah that moment like yeah I I replay that moment had a f bit and then you call out shf cat which everybody loves because no one’s calling out sha cat but um people should know man I mean you were calling out shaat you you called out shaat to me backstage in Perth over a year ago I mean this is a fight that you have had circled for a while how long have you been wanning this fight it’s a weird one I don’t know why him I’ve probably the last three I reckon since my Contender series fight or the first fight in the UFC I’ve always seen him and thought he’s young he’s my age and he’s he’s finishing everyone and I always thought he was the toughest fight in the division so yeah it’s the fight I’ve been uh hanging out for has the UFC ever showed a mutual interest in it because like you said you you’ve mentioned it before have you ever discussed it has it ever been like a possibility in the past um it’s sort of there I think they know it’s inevitable to be honest I think they’re trying to make it happen at the right time and my thoughts are this is the right s it’s I reckon it’s the biggest title eliminate a fight to go down in UFC yeah in my opinion yeah I mean the runs that you guys are on I’m trying to think of what would be the biggest number one Contender fight in UFC history that would be a fun list to try to put together off the top of my head that’s a tough question to ask but um and then he responded to you it seems like like he would like to do it yeah I mean you you read his tweet what did you think of it yeah great know I couldn’t have uh he’s perfect that’s he’s like a James I feel like he’s like a James Bond villain e so I’m happy to be James Bond and yeah I thought that was the perfect response from him so I think that’s I don’t know how this thing works but I think it’s on yeah yeah I think so too um what would you think about timing wise I mean obviously now you got your arm to uh to heal up from I imagine Leon you know there’s there’s some talk about maybe a pay-per-view card in in Manchester fortunately you got some inside info on that with your uh with your manager being Tim Simpson um but when when do you think it it lines up you know when you think about Leon’s schedule or your schedule what do you what do you think this would make S I think shf cat from this is what I I don’t really I haven’t spok anyone about this but I’ve seen maybe he wanted to fight early August he’s carrying an injury I’m carrying an injury I reckon I’m good to go early August so August sometime mid August maybe down this side of the world who knows yeah wherever it takes place it’s going to be great I guess the last thing I would ask you is can you preview it for me this is a fight that you’ve been thinking about what do you think this fight looks like what do you think are the uh I think it’s yeah I just that I reckon it’s one of the biggest it’s a big title Eliminator fight like two guys under 30 he’s on an 18 fight no losing streak all finishes I’m on a 17 fight streak uh probably 95% finishes MH I think we go in there and I think I finish him you know I think I go there and shock the world a lot of people count me out but I reckon I can uh spark him and then get the title shot what do you think is like uh I’ve asked you this before like what allows you to finish these fights you know and and I I think like correct me if I’m wrong but I want to say that that you’ve kind of talked about how you get reads early on and you you get a good feel for guys and you draw them into your shots is that is that kind of appropriate to say like that’s that’s one of the ways that’s one of the reasons why you’re finishing fights I think so I feel like I’m pretty PTI you know and I sort of I’m not just going to uh swing and hope for the best I like to set my timing and pull like make the that decision at the right time so yeah I think patience and timing and so how about him like if that’s what’s leading to your finishes what have you seen in terms of of him why is he finishing so much he’s tough you know he’s definitely it’s not going to be easy I just think yeah it’s going to be a tough fight he’s going to bring it it’s going to be wild and I think he’s uh hitable for sure he showed that he can absolutely take some of the biggest shots he took big shots from Jeff Neil so but I think he’s hitable you know and I feel like I can hit him so yeah I think me and him will put on a big fight good fight and big drama show they say in Kazakhstan yeah yeah the Triple G thing yeah I guess since you called him out yeah he’s got that big following you’ve hear that uh anything that has to do with him his fan base comes along after you called him out in such a big way did you get a response from Kazakhstan at all yeah like my uh Instagram is just covered in a kazakhstani flag so I got to respect it it’s pretty cool it’s really cool I would love to see him get some Australian flags so get the Aussies going but yeah it’s great to see what like I would love to visit Kazakhstan um so yeah I’d love to beat chavka and then I’ll go to Kazakhstan and check it out heck yeah man I mean you got me excited about this fight and I think you’re uh I’ve never heard anybody talk about like trying to place historically like a title Eliminator fight and um I mean if we want to build this thing as the biggest title Eliminator fight in UFC history like I’m there for it I think it’s going to be a great fight I hope it comes together I believe it’ll come together and you are tough dude I mean for you to not even realize that your forearm is broken and for nobody in the arena like usually like the commentators can notice the opponents notice your own corner like they didn’t even know right I mean nobody knew that that your forearm was snapped cleaning half when you’re fighting that third round yeah it’s what yeah it is pretty crazy I knew pretty I knew pretty much when the fight was over I uh knew pretty much straight away yeah but yeah yeah adrenaline there just said yep it is a hell of a drug well congrats on the win man thank you so much for taking the time good luck on surgery and I’ll let you get uh let you get to your son and enjoy your family since you’ve been gone for a little bit cheers Brett have a good day thank you very much all right man congrats again great win thanks man I appreciate [Applause] it [Music] oh