In Montreal, Quebec, Canada, at UFC 315, Jack Della Maddalena outstruck and dominated Belal Muhammad to win the UFC Welterweight Championship. Entering the fight as an underdog against a superior wrestler in Muhammad, Maddalena’s takedown defense and the damage he did to Belal were enough for the fans to be convinced by the Aussie’s brilliance.

The newly crowned king of the welterweights looks down from his throne and can see a whole set of competitors ready to take him on. Top contenders like Shavkat Rakhmonov, Sean Brady, and even Ian Garry. However, the last fighter we mentioned? Maddalena and his coach Ben Vickers gave ‘The Future’ a big reality check and want him to stay in the present before he sees himself as a welterweight contender.

“He needs to stop flying around the world trying to be a celebrity, and get in the gym and get some power and figure out how to finish fights. His time would be better spent doing that than trying to wind Jack up, you think Jack’s going to bite on any of that stuff? He doesn’t care, man. He’s the most chilled-out dude in the world. So, yeah, it’s all just a bit silly really. I don’t think Ian Garry will ever own [a UFC championship], answer to your question.”

Jack Della Maddalena targeted Garry, saying, “I definitely think we’re gonna fight one day and I think I’ll be able to put him down. I think I would beat him, I think I can get the finish on him. He doesn’t like getting hit too hard and I think I’ll be able to hit him pretty hard.” But Machado wasn’t going to take this and stand still.

Following the heavy blows on the Irishman by the due, ‘The Future’ came back with his own humble pie to serve for Maddalena and Vickers. As he sat down to talk with Ariel Helwani on his podcast, Ian Machado Garry said, “In his last 4 fights, Jack has had 1 finish. He’s telling me I need to get into the gym, and I need to start finding some power? He got beat up pretty bad. I’ve seen his face. Belal ain’t nowhere near the striker that I am… I’ll bend his nose backwards the way it should be.” With an onslaught of his own, Garry highlighted how Maddalena has only been able to finish Gilbert Burns in his last four fights and questions his power and striking ability, considering he could not finish Belal and took significant damage in the fight himself.

However, this isn’t the first instance where Maddalena and Garry have found themselves in a verbal war. When the bout between Belal and Jack was announced Ian Garry reacted to the news quite furiously.

A callback to when Belal Muhammad vs Jack Della Maddalena for the 170-pound gold left Ian Machado Garry “seething”

When the UFC 315 main event was announced, most of the world was waiting in excitement. But for Ian Garry, the move was disrespectful. The fighter who gave Shavkat Rakhmonov a great challenge even in a loss believed he should’ve at least been approached for a proposal for the title shot. Garry claimed it was his leg kicks in the fight with Rakhmonov that made the Kazakh pull out of the fight with Muhammad, who was then later replaced by Maddalena.

Ian Machado Garry believed he deserved the title shot by making the number.1 contender pulled out due to an injury caused by Ian’s leg kicks. Garry said, “I was seething, just seething when I found out that they’re going to give it to a guy who’s been injured and hasn’t fought in a year. So for me it was more just a respect thing. Um, I know what Jack has done and I know like, I know what Jack can do in this division. It’s not against Jack per se, but the guy hasn’t competed or fought in a year and has been battling an injury. You know what I mean?”

Ian Garry’s remarks sparked controversy. Not only did he think that Maddalena shouldn’t fight for the belt because of his time off, he called the Aussie striker on a 17-fight win streak run, now 18, unworthy. Justified or not, ‘The Future’ was subject to some heavy backlash because of it.

However, now things are different. Garry is back on his winning ways after beating the Brazilian Muay Thai legend Carlos Prates. And Maddalena, the new welterweight champion, is making himself battle-ready to face the former 155-pound kingpin, Islam Makhachev, who is on his way to fulfill his ambition. What’s next in their future? Only time can tell. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.