Breakdown: Della Maddalena's boxing guard ineffective against Prates' attacks

A detailed fight analysis reveals that Jack Della Maddalena relied heavily on a boxing guard defense, executing approximately 90% of his defensive actions this way, which proved ineffective against Carlos Prates' diverse striking arsenal of kicks, elbows, knees and punches. Della Maddalena fought primarily in southpaw stance despite previous leg damage from Islam Makhachev, allowing Prates to punish his left side with middle kicks that left visible damage by the second round. The analysis notes that Della Maddalena lacked the speed and aggression to pressure Prates effectively, and his slow, rhythmic striking style couldn't match Prates' explosive, multi-angle attacks. Regarding a potential Islam Makhachev vs. Prates matchup, the breakdown suggests Prates' leg kicks could damage Makhachev's lead leg as a southpaw, but questions whether Prates could maintain his striking prowess after being controlled on the ground. The piece also speculates that UFC may need to decide whether to match Prates against Shavkat Rakhmonov to determine a clear number one contender.