The UFC is back in Montreal for the first time in a decade on Saturday night with a pair of title fights, which includes welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and No. 5-ranked Australian challenger Jack Della Maddalena topping the 12-fight card for UFC 315.
Muhammad is making his first title defense after suffering an injury late last year. Muhammad upset former champion Leon Edwards last July in the main event of UFC 304 to usher in a new era at 170 pounds.
Muhammad, a Chicago native, said Thursday that Della Maddalena will see a new version none of Muhammad’s previous opponents have seen before: “Canelo Hands.”
“Jack goes down in three ,” Muhammad told reporters at the pre-fight presser.
UFC CEO Dana White confirmed Muhammad is in the mix for a potential super-fight against former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria or UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev if he were to be victorious. Former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira also is in the conversation for a title shot, barring possible outcomes.
“That’s pretty accurate,” White said.
Della Maddalena didn’t take too kindly to Muhammad’s words, dismissing the notion that Muhammad won’t use his potent wrestling base to win the fight.
“That’s not gonna happen,” Della Maddalena said.
Della Maddalena hasn’t lost in nine years, compiling an unblemished UFC mark after earning a UFC contract by winning his Dana White Contender Series bout against Ange Loosa in September 2021.
The co-headliner sees Valentina Shevchenko begin her second stint as UFC flyweight champion against French native Manon Fiorot. Shevchenko exacted revenge last September against Alexa Grasso to regain the belt. Meanwhile, Fiorot looks to become the first Frenchwoman to win a UFC title and extend her promotional win streak to eight.
The rest of the card features a mix of former champions, veterans and top prospects.
The main card festivities get underway at 10 p.m. ET/5 a.m. KSA time.
Main card:
• Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena, welterweight — Muhammad’s UFC welterweight title
• Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot, flyweight — Shevchenko’s UFC flyweight title
• Jose Aldo vs. Aiemann Zahabi, bantamweight
• Alexa Grasso vs. Natalia Silva, flyweight
• Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Kyle Prepolec, lightweight
