Jack Della Maddalena has just booked a new short-notice fight against the debuting Bassil Hafez at this weekend’s UFC On ESPN 49 event in Las Vegas.
Maddalena had originally been scheduled to fight Sean Brady at this past weekend’s UFC 290 event, but when he pulled out a late replacement Josiah Harrell was drafted in to replace him.
However that fight also fell through under dramatic circumstances during fight week when promotional newcomer Harrell was found to have a rare brain disorder called moyamoya disease during a pre-fight medical that’s forced him to put his career on hold for the time being.
And so the 26-year-old Maddalena was withdrawn from the UFC 290 event completely and immediately declared that he wanted to fight on this weekend’s UFC On ESPN 49 event instead and the UFC readily agreed.
Maddalena originally found his way to the UFC via the Contender Series and has made a big impact since, winning all four of his fights so far inside the first round, beating the likes of Randy Brown, Danny Roberts and Ramazan Emeev along the way.
Now he’ll be taking on the 31-year-old Hafez, who holds an 8-3 record and is coming off back-to-back wins in the Fury FC promotion.
Maddalena vs. Hafez bolsters a UFC On ESPN 49 card that will be headlined by Holly Holm vs. Mayra Bueno Silva.
