Tactical breakdown reveals Della Maddalena's defensive flaws against Prates

A detailed re-watch analysis identified that Jack Della Maddalena relied on boxing blocks for approximately 90% of his defensive actions against Carlos Prates, which proved ineffective against Prates's tornado of kicks, elbows, knees, and punches. Della Maddalena's porous blocking allowed many straight punches through and he couldn't counter-punch explosively from the block like Petr Yan does. Surprisingly, Della Maddalena fought extensively in southpaw stance despite Makhachev previously damaging his left leg, and when switching to orthodox, Prates targeted his left side with middle kicks until it turned red. The analyst noted Della Maddalena's best chance was aggressive pressure as the aggressor, keeping Prates against the cage, but he lacked the speed and was too cautious after eating a knee. The piece concludes that Prates would have dominated regardless of preparation, comparing him to a hybrid of Alex Poatan and Anderson Silva, while analyzing potential challenges Islam Makhachev would face, particularly Prates's leg kick effectiveness against southpaws.