UFC 315 Fight Preview: Belal Muhammad vs Jack Della Maddalena

The UFC makes its return to Canada, making it its 35th event in the Great White North. This time, as we are already accustomed to, we are getting two title fights with the Welterweight bout between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalene acting as the headliner. The co-main will feature the Women’s Flyweight queen, Valentina Shevchenko, defending her title versus French sensation Manon Fiorot.

Down the card, we have the legend José Aldo making another crack at the Octagon, this time against a local hero in Aiemann Zahabi. The main card will also feature fights between Alexa Grasso vs Natalia Silva, and Benoit Saint-Denis against Kyle Prepolec.

Montreal is known for being the toughest fighting town in Canada, and I am sure that the crowd will not disappoint. But I am also certain that the fights are going to deliver, which I am going to break down for you shortly.   

Main Fight: Belal Muhammad vs Jack Della Maddalena

The current Welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad, is often criticised as a boring fighter, and Dana White was not reluctant to say so. But Belal has shown time and time again that his heavy wrestling style is what wins fights. Unless there is someone to counter it, he will continue doing it. Unfortunately, Muhammad was supposed to face Shavkat Rakhmonov for the title, but the Kazakh fighter fell to injury, and JDM jumped in as a worthy replacement.

We know exactly what Belal Remember the Name is going to do in this one. But all of his 11 previous opponents knew as well, and he is still undefeated in all of those fights. He was able to neutralise Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady using the same style and eventually took the crown from Leon Edwards.

On the other hand, Jack Della is an underrated fighter, but one who definitely deserves a title shot, especially after his 17-fight win streak. He is exciting, gritty, and possesses a fan-friendly fight style. He has 12 KO/TKOs and two submissions, with his latest win coming via a KO stoppage against Gilbert Burns.

While I can honestly label this bout as a classic striker vs grappler matchup. We all know how those usually go, especially when one of them is a superior grappler. Belal is not going to change his game and will try to take Della Maddalena down from round one. While JDM does have excellent take-down defence, it is hard to hold your own against somebody as decorated as Muhammad is. Jack does have a striker’s chance. If he is able to defend and get a barrage of punches in, he could have a chance. But for now, I am leaning towards Remember the Name edging this one via decision.

Co-Main Fight: Valentina Shevchenko vs Manon Fiorot

In the Women’s Flyweight division, Valentina Shevchenko is finally turning a new leaf after needing her trilogy against Alexa Grasso. After losing, drawing and then regaining her title, the Bullet is finally ready to move on and face new challengers. This time, in front of her is an up-and-coming fighter from France, Manon Fiorot, who has been slowly making her case for this title shot. 

Fiorot is 12-1 in her MMA career, with her UFC record being 7-0. She was able to dispatch the likes of Erin Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas, which was more than enough for her to earn this chance. Fiorot is an expert striker and a strong one, boasting excellent wrestling defence and the ability to fight off the cage.

If she is able to bring her A game, Valentina could be facing her toughest test to date. She got much better at wrestling, which helped her take her title back against Grasso in their last trilogy fight. But I don’t see her doing the same to Manon. She is much stronger and can wrestle in reverse.

I do see potential in this fight going against the Champion, and I can honestly say that I am expecting a decision win. The question remains who. But I am willing to play spoiler this time and give the nod to Fiorot, who is just a bit younger but technically sound on the feet.

UFC 315 Predictions: Rest of the Card

The rest of the UFC 315 main fight card is not as impressive as you would expect it to be. Sure, we do have Jose Aldo vs Aiemann Zahabi, but I was never too impressed with Zahabi to begin with, even with his 5-fight win streak on the line. This is a legacy fight, one which Jose Aldo should win via decision.

Alexa Grasso vs Natalia Silva is a title elimination fight. Whoever wins here will surely face the winner of Shevchenko vs Fiorot. Grasso has had an impressive trilogy against Shevchenko, and there is a scenario where the two could meet for the fourth time. But she first needs to go through Silva, who is on an impressive 12-fight win streak of her own. Silva is dangerous, so dangerous that I definitely see her defeating Grasso, and she might be able to pull a stoppage win here as well.

The night starts with Benoit Saint-Denis facing Kyle Prepolec, where the Frenchman was supposed to originally fight Joel Alvarez. The Spaniard needed to pull out due to injury, and Prepolec stepped in as a replacement. The fact that Saint-Denis is in desperation mode with two losses in a row and the fact that he has had a full fight camp lead me to believe that he will win and even do so in impressive fashion.

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