Jack Della Maddalena was the latest guest on the FreeStylebender podcast, with Israel Adesanya asking some big questions ahead of UFC 322.Maddalena will be defending his UFC welterweight crown against former UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Makhachev will be going up a weight class as he seeks two-division glory while Maddalena will be in his first UFC title defense.The stakes are high for both fighters and while Makhachev is known for his grappling and wrestling, his rival is wary of the striking the Russian possesses.Maddalena was asked about how much Makhachev has grown over the years and the Australian brought up how good the striking has become.“I think he has definitely gotten better, 100% better, definitely the striking for sure."Adesanya, who is a former UFC middleweight champion, echoed his guest’s thoughts and went further to say Makhachev has better striking than Khabib Nurmagomedov:“Better striking than Khabib, I think. More cleaner striking than Khabib.”The welterweight champion went on to say that Makhachev has more weapons than Nurmagomedov too.Check out Israel Adesanya and Jack Della Maddalena's comments below:'The Eagle' retired with a 29-0 record and is considered one the greatest MMA fighters of all time. With such comments coming from Adesanya and Maddalena, there may come a time when Makhachev usurps his friend's legacy in the sport.Islam Makhachev lauds Jack Della Maddalena’s skillsIt seems respect goes both ways in this fight with Islam Makhachev appreciating his rival’s skills too before their huge clash.The Russian was speaking to ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto a couple of weeks back and was asked about the Australian’s abilities. Makhachev replied:“I watched all of his fights. He's good. Striking is good. His boxing is very good and his wrestling not so good, but he [is] good in the ground. He knows how to defend, how to escape, [and] how to get up... I saw his defense, you know, lot of guys take him down. All his opponents in the UFC take him down, but he feels good on the ground. When somebody takes him down, he [doesn't] panic, [doesn't make] mistakes.”UFC 322 is gearing up to be one of the biggest events of the year. There is another belt on the line as Valentina Shevchenko defends her women’s flyweight title against Zhang Weili in the co-main event.