There’s a king at 170 pounds. After a tough battle in the main event of UFC 315 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Jack Della Maddalena outlasted Belal Muhammad to earn the welterweight title. Della Maddalena stepped in on short notice to replace Shavkat Rakhmonov in the main event and made good on his opportunity.
The native of Australia outboxed and outstruck Muhammad for most of the five rounds of action, though the final five minutes turned into an interesting back and forth battle as Muhammad attempted to mount a rally. Now, the next contender at 170 pounds could be lightweight champion Islam Makhachev as he looks to move up and become the latest two-division champion.
Elsewhere on the card, Valentina Shevchenko remains the class of the 125-pound division. Shevchenko outpointed Manon Fiorot in a tight battle between the pair of veterans. Shevchenko is now on her second reign as champion in the flyweight ranks after a trilogy with Alexa Grasso. Plus, Jose Aldo laid his gloves down in the ring to signify his retirement (for a second time) after a tough loss to Aieman Zahabi on the main card. Aldo, who was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023, went 1-2 in his three appearances upon return.
CBS Sports was with you throughout fight week with the latest news, in-depth features and betting advice to consider. Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you at UFC 316 in Newark, New Jersey.
UFC 315 fight card, results
- Jack Della Maddalena def. Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
- Valentina Shevchenko (c) def. Manon Fiorot via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
- Aiemann Zahabi def. José Aldo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Natalia Silva def. Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Benoit Saint Denis def. Kyle Prepolec via second-round submission (arm triangle choke)
- Mike Malott def. Charles Radtke via second-round TKO (punches)
- Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Jessica Andrade via first-round submission (rear naked choke)
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Ion Cuțelaba via split decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28)
- Navajo Stirling def. Ivan Erslan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
- Joshua Van def. Bruno Silva via first-round knockout (elbow)
- Daniel Santos def. Lee Jeong Yeong via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Bekzat Almakhan def. Brad Katona via first-round knockout (punch)