A detailed breakdown of Carlos Prates' victory over Jack Della Maddalena reveals that Della Maddalena relied too heavily on a boxing guard defense, which proved ineffective against Prates' diverse arsenal of kicks, elbows, knees, and punches. Della Maddalena fought predominantly in a southpaw stance despite having his left leg damaged in his previous bout with Islam Makhachev, and when he switched to orthodox, Prates targeted his left side with mid-kicks. The analyst notes that Della Maddalena lacked the speed and aggression needed to pressure Prates effectively and keep him against the cage. The post concludes with analysis of a potential Islam Makhachev versus Prates matchup, noting that Prates has effectively destroyed the lead legs of southpaw opponents like Leon Edwards and Della Maddalena with low kicks, but questions whether Prates could maintain his performance after being held down in grappling exchanges.
