Perth UFC fighter Cody Haddon joins UFC 322 card, backs Jack Della Maddalena to KO Islam Makhachev

UFC bantamweight Cody Haddon has declared it’s a “Perth takeover” of the iconic Madison Square Garden, after joining the card headlined by West Australian star Jack Della Maddalena. And he says Islam Makhachev will be no match for the welterweight champion, backing Della Maddalena to retain his title with a knockout win at UFC 322 on November 16. “Islam is a lightweight, and he’s obviously one of the pound-for-pound best fighters right now, and there’s no denying it, but welterweights are a big jump from lightweight,” Haddon said. “I just think that he’s not big enough for the division, he has the capability to go up and become double-champ, but not against Jack Della — there’s no way. “From what I’ve seen, from what he’s been able to do against these heavy grapplers, and how he’s been able to nullify them, I just think one shot from Jack, he’s so powerful, he only needs to land one and it’s over. “He’ll shut his lights out.” Haddon (8-1-0) spoke exclusively to The West Australian after accepting the biggest fight of his career on short-notice to take on undefeated American heavy-hitter Malcolm Wellmaker (10-0-0) in a preliminary bout at UFC 322. Wellmaker’s previous opponent was forced to withdraw from a shoulder injury before Haddon accepted the fight last Thursday. The 27-year-old, who trains at Luistro Combat Academy in Cloverdale, said he had been “working hard in silence” before the UFC reached out. “I’m here to show them what I can do, because I’ve flown under the radar,” he said. “My debut was a fight night card, there wasn’t a lot of really eyes on that. “After this fight people will be talking about me in the same conversations as Jack Della, Quillan Salkilld, Steve Erceg, and Alexander Volkanovski — I’m another Aussie that we can back and that will make waves. “I’m prepared, I’ve trained 21 years for this moment, it’s not what I’ve done in the last year, it’s what I’ve been doing since I was six years old.” “It’s exciting for me, but I was born for this . . . this is what I’ve wanted my whole life.” Haddon said he saw Jack Della Maddalena as just “Della from down the road” and couldn’t wait to get a win on November 16 just like “old times” after fighting together in their respective divisions on Eternal MMA before they each secured UFC contracts. “I’m super excited, I’m finally getting my shot, and to do it with Della on his undercard, it’s just like old times — it’s the Perth takeover,” he said. “Malcolm’s got a lot more hype, the American fans will probably cheer him a lot more, maybe they’ll boo me, but on the way out, as I’m walking back to the changerooms, they’ll be cheering me.” Quillan Salkilld— Haddon’s teammate — accepted a fight with just 11 days notice and has travelled to Abu Dhabi to face Afghani fighter Nasrat Haqparast for UFC 321 this Sunday. Both Haddon and Salkilld earned a UFC contract through Dana White’s Contender Series.