Belal Muhammad is set to defend his UFC welterweight championship for the first time, headlining UFC 315 against Jack Della Maddalena in Montreal. The event marks the organization's return to the Canadian city after a decade.
Muhammad enters the bout with a 24-3 record in mixed martial arts and a 15-3 mark in the UFC. He captured the welterweight title against Leon Edwards last summer and holds an unbeaten streak spanning his last 11 outings over six years.
His opponent, Della Maddalena, brings a 17-2 MMA record and a perfect 7-0 run since joining the UFC via Dana White's Contender Series in 2021. Della Maddalena has finished five of his seven UFC opponents and secured recent wins over Bassil Hafez, Kevin Holland, and Gilbert Burns.
The matchup presents a stylistic contrast, often viewed as a clash between Muhammad's pressure and conditioning-focused approach and Della Maddalena's striking ability. Both athletes possess skills extending beyond a simple grappler-versus-striker label.
UFC 315 features multiple high-profile bouts on the main card. The co-main event sees Valentina Shevchenko facing Manon Fiorot for the flyweight title..Other main card matchups include Jose Aldo returning to face Aiemann Zahabi in a bantamweight contest, Alexa Grasso meeting Natalia Silva in a flyweight bout, and Benoit Saint Denis taking on Kyle Prepolec at lightweight.
The event's preliminary portion also features notable fights, such as Mike Malott against Charles Radtke at welterweight and Jessica Andrade facing Jasmine Jasudavicius in a flyweight pairing..Modestas Bukauskas fights Ion Cutelaba in a light heavyweight contest, Navajo Sterling faces Ivan Erslan in another light heavyweight bout, and Marc-Andre Barriault battles Bruno Silva at middleweight..Additional preliminary fights include Daniel Santos versus JeongYeong Lee at featherweight and Brad Katona against Bekzat Almakhan in a bantamweight opener. Fighters arrived in Montreal ahead of the event, documented in the promotion's popular video series..Muhammad's first title defense against the surging Della Maddalena is a key matchup in the welterweight division.
