NEW YORK (AP) — Jack Della Maddalena felt on top of the world when he won the UFC 170-pound title in his first shot at the belt.

Reigning atop the division is one thing in MMA. Staying on top, well, that can get tricky when a face-to-face meeting with his first championship challenger was more than 100 stories off the ground.

Maddalena and Islam Makhachev had a title fight stare down on top of the Empire State Building ahead of their fight Saturday in UFC 322’s main event.

“I was pretty freaked out about that,” Maddalena said.

Afraid of heights?

“A little bit,” he conceded.

Afraid of Makhachev? Certainly not, especially when Maddalena (18-2) has his boots firmly planted on much lower ground inside the cage at Madison Square Garden.

Yet Maddalena — on an 18-fight career win streak, f

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