Jack Della Maddelena will serve as the co-main event in UFC Vegas 77, alongside opponent Bassil Hafez, after his original opponent was forced to withdraw due to a rare brain disease, and Hafez agreeing to a short-notice fight.
Jack Della Maddelena is not only participating in UFC Vegas 77, but he is also stepping into the prominent position of the co-main event. His opponent for the night will be Bassil Hafez. The fight between these two was upgraded to the co-headliner spot after Hafez accepted the quick call to battle Della Maddelena several days before the match.
Della Maddelena was initially scheduled to go head-to-head in UFC 290, but his contender Sean Brady was abruptly pulled from the card due to unforeseen circumstances. The UFC then managed to rope in Josiah Harrell as a replacement for Brady. However, Harrell couldn’t participate either since his pre-game medicals disclosed a rare brain disease that doesn’t allow him to compete.
Following these developments, Della Maddelena decided to stay put in Las Vegas instead of heading back to Australia. He was optimistic that the UFC could secure another match for him. This is when Hafez received the call. Interestingly, Hafez had previously expressed his interest in the UFC 290 fight, but Harrell was chosen for that matchup.
Hafez has a commendable record of 8-3-1 and had been crowned the Fury Fighting Championships welterweight champion in February before he joined UFC just days ago. Now, he is gearing up to make his debut in the octagon by facing Della Maddelena, determined to cause an upset. The Della Maddelena vs Hafez match is the penultimate battle preceding the main event – the significant clash between Holly Holm and Mayra Bueno Silva in the UFC women’s bantamweight division.