UFC 315 is going to be a huge affair. It marks the banner’s first foray to Canada for 2025, featuring a welterweight title headliner between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. It also features fighters like Valentina Shevchenko vs Manon Fiorot in a women’s flyweight bout, and Jose Aldo against Aiemann Zahabi in a bantamweight fight, among many others.
The main card includes several talented fighters and is also going to be the first welterweight title defense for Muhammad. ‘Remember the Name’ has a lot on his plate—not only is he defending his title for the first time, but he is doing it against someone dangerous like Maddalena, who is undefeated in the UFC.
However, such a big fight for Maddalena hasn’t curbed his crisis. He is apparently having to fundraise to cover the cost of bringing his team to Canada with him. Seven wins in the promotion and a title shot should have had the UFC take care of him, right? Yes, but that courtesy extends only to him, and one other person. If you know Belal Muhammad, you know that there’s s side to him that likes to troll his opponents. So, looking at the whole fundraising fiasco, ‘Remember the Name’ didn’t miss a beat as proceeded to poke fun at JDM.
Maddalena posted on X, “Stoked the UFC has put their trust in me to save the division. This will be done in 1 no doubt.” To this, ‘Remember the Name’ replied, “Just when I was gonna donate to your fundraiser so your coaches can come …enjoy Spirit Airlines.”
Maddalena collaborated with The Riverton Bar and Grill in Western Australia to organise a fundraiser for his team. Seeing the welterweight title contender having to do this for his team angered fans on X, who directed their rage at Dana White and the UFC: “[Dana White], are you not embarrassed? Look how you treat the 170 division now that [Kamaru] Usman, Leon [Edwards], and Colby [Covington] are on losing streaks.”
So why exactly is Jack Della Maddalena fundraising for his team? Is there an explicit policy by the UFC? Let’s find out.
Why is Jack Della Maddalena fundraising?
The Aussie star is about to share the Octagon with current welterweight champ Belal Muhammad at UFC 315. And yes, some of his costs are being funded by the UFC. But the rest of his teams and coaches? Well, it won’t be covered because, according to sources, the promotion is prepared to cover the cost of 6 nights’ lodging and flights for two people—that’s it. His other coaches, teammates, family, and friends will personally have to costs of travel and accommodation if they want to extend their support to Maddalena in Canada.
This is why the Aussie fighter hosted a fundraiser with The Rivo Bar & Grill in Perth, Australia. The establishment posted on Instagram with the captions, “Q&A session with longtime coach Ben Vickers and brother Josh Della, also UFC stars Steve Erceg and Quillan Salkilld. The tickets will be $150 and $250 for the VIP experience, which will include a meet and greet with a photo and a signed poster. Believe it or not, the UFC does not pay for anyone.”
This particular incident speaks to the larger talking point of fighter pay in the UFC, and the accusation by some against Dana White underpaying his fighters. The UFC had to endure a decade-long legal case involving more than 1,200 fighters suing the banner. After years of legal battles, the courts declared that UFC has to pay the $375 million to former fighters who sued the organisation in the antitrust lawsuit which was brought forth by UFC fighter Cung Le and other fighters.
What do you think about this whole situation of Jack Della Maddalena doing a fundraiser to fly his team out to Canada? Do you think it’s fair, considering he’s t he welterweight title contender? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
The post “Enjoy Spirit Airlines” – Belal Muhammad Makes a Laughing Stock Out of Jack Della Maddalena’s Fundraising Struggles Before UFC 315 Fight appeared first on EssentiallySports.