For the first time since 2015, the UFC returns to the fighting city Montreal on Saturday for a pay-per-view event headlined by a pair of title bouts.
With injuries behind him, Belal Muhammad makes the first defense of his welterweight title against Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena in the UFC 315 main event from inside Bell Centre. In the co-headliner, Valentina Shevchenko welcomes unbeaten French striker Manon Fiorot for a shot at her women’s flyweight title.
Let’s take a closer look at the biggest storylines entering this weekend.
1. The UFC 317 announcement is on hold until Belal Muhammad-Jack Della Maddalena
That seems to be the prevailing theory as to why we are less than two months out from UFC’s annual International Fight Week celebration and fans still haven’t heard what the UFC 317 main event will be for June 28 in Las Vegas. Muhammad basically confirmed those suspicions throughout a stretch of recent interviews. The gist appears to be that UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, who has trained alongside Muhammad under Khabib Nurmagomedov, wants to move up to welterweight but doesn’t want to face his friend. The whole scenario adds an interesting wrinkle to what’s at stake in Saturday’s 170-pound title main event as a Muhammad win could force UFC’s hand in making a summer showdown between Makhachev and former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. But if JDM pulls the upset, Topuria could be looking at an interim or vacant title opportunity at UFC 317 against the likes of Justin Gaethje or Charles Oliveira.
UFC 315: Champion Belal Muhammad says ‘nothing’ will stop him from walking out with Palestinian flag
Shakiel Mahjouri
2. The disrespect following Muhammad into UFC 315 is nothing new
Two months shy of his 37th birthday, all Muhammad continues to do is win — no matter what — as he brings an 11-bout unbeaten streak into Saturday’s first title defense. That hasn’t stopped the old rhetoric of critics either overlooking Muhammad’s ability to win big fights or focusing too much on his perceived “boring” style as a pressure fighter who mixes in timely takedowns to neutralize the gas tank of his opponents. But Muhammad isn’t here by accident and his last six fights, dating back to 2021, have seen the proud Palestine-American from Chicago defeat a who’s who in the division’s recent history: Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicent Luque, Sean Brady, Gilbert Burns and Leon Edwards. Muhammad enters UFC 315 as a slight (and rightful) betting favorite who continues to tease the possibility of his own move up in weight after a recent callout of unbeaten middleweight Khamzat Chimaev. But regardless of what happens next for him or Makhachev, Muhammad deserves his pound-for-pound ranking as he remains the class of the division until he’s either dethroned or he vacates the crown. Take it from someone who routinely has doubted Muhammad along the way, he’s significantly better than the reputation he can’t seem to shake. And this time, after recovering from a foot injury that pulled him from his last bout, Muhammad is fully healthy.
3. Della Maddalena has a few questions to answer of his own
Although it was No. 2 rated Shavkat Rakhmonov’s nagging injuries that opened up the door for JDM to cut the line at 170 pounds, the rugged boxer from the far reaches of Perth in Western Australia is entering the biggest fight of his career at an interesting time. On one hand, Della Maddalena is unbeaten in seven strips to the Octagon and has long been touted as a future title challenger in waiting. But recent history hasn’t been overwhelmingly kind to ‘JDM’ as he returns this weekend following a 14-month layoff. In his last fight, a 2024 third-round knockout against veteran Gilbert Burns, Della Maddalena was forced to rally to score a finish in the final round while down on two of three scorecards after being visibly outgrappled. The two fights before that, in 2023 wins over Bassil Hafez and Kevin Holland, Della Maddalena hung on via split decision. Della Maddalena enters Saturday’s opportunity to truly break through on the elite level of UFC but he will be forced to do so as an underdog whom Muhammad has referred to as “one dimensional” and prone to being “drowned” in the late rounds by the elite gas tank that the champion wields.
4. The pressure is on Valentina Shevchenko entering second title reign
For all of the inspirational drama created by Shevchenko last September at The Sphere in Las Vegas, when she defeated Alexa Grasso in their trilogy fight at UFC 306 to regain her 125-pound title, the 37-year-old future Hall of Famer will be the betting underdog against Manon Fiorot. A native of France, Fiorot rebounded from a loss in her 2018 to win her next 12, including all seven trips to the Octagon. She has also defeated a flurry of top names, including the likes of former title challengers Mayra Bueno Silva, Jennifer Maia and Katlyn Chookagian, former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and top contenders Tabatha Ricci and Erin Blanchfield. Fiorot’s karate and kickboxing experience have helped her control the terms of most striking exchanges while her takedown defense, particularly against Blanchfield, shut off her opponent’s lone path to victory. The onus will be on the aging Shevchenko to use her well-rounded skills to find a way to slow Fiorot down in what’s expected to be an intriguing chess match with the future of the deepest division in women’s MMA at stake.
5. Booking Jose Aldo as elite gatekeeper continues to annoy fans
As arguably the greatest featherweight in UFC history and one of the sport’s living legends, it’s not difficult to see why many critics have spoken out against the promotion’s handling of “The King of Rio” in recent years. After moving down to bantamweight and eventually challenging Petr Yan for the vacant title in 2020, Aldo has remained a steady threat at 135 pounds after winning four of his next six fights. But like the tail end of Anderson Silva’s UFC run, the promotion appears to now be using Aldo’s name simply to bump up the celebrity factor of another big card while giving another young prospect an opportunity to make his name. In some ways, that’s the typical life cycle of combat sports in general. And Aldo’s opponent on Saturday, Quebec native Aiemann Zahabi, is riding a five-fight win streak as the unheralded 37-year-old enters the biggest fight of his career. That doesn’t mean Aldo deserves to be in a fight with this little fanfare for the third straight time after defeating Jonathan Martinez before losing a split decision in a boring grappling match against Mario Bautista over the past 12 months. Aldo is just three fights removed from losing a competitive decision to current champion Merab Dvalishvili and could likely be much better presented in a fun fight against a fellow aging legend that fans would actually be excited for.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings