UFC 315: Weighing Up The Co-Main Events of The Night In Montréal

While the 2023 merger between the WWE and UFC is now having repercussions in the boxing world, kicking up a fuss with the TKO Group’s new promotion and its less-than-complimentary notes on the sport, both brands continue with their major events schedule.

On May 10, the UFC will make its way to Montréal for UFC 315, boasting a superb slate of fights. The undercard offers plenty of intrigue, especially for any local MMA fans coming to Centre Bell. The main card is also stacked, and it’s been topped off by two huge fights in men’s welterweight and women’s flyweight.

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot

The first co-main event fight that’ll make its way to the octagon on May 10 will be Valentina Shevchenko versus Manon Fiorot. It’s “Bullet” against “The Beast” to decide who’ll get to walk away with the flyweight title. Shevchenko, who’s now 37-years-old, is coming in having won the last fight of a trilogy with Alexa Grasso.

While that trilogy technically ended 1-1-1, with Shevchenko improving with each rumble, she now stands atop the pound-for-pound rankings put out by the UFC. She has designs on a fight with the strawweight champion already, per Yahoo!, but Manon Fiorot isn’t to be underestimated.

The French fighter is 12-1-0 and on a seven-fight winning streak within the UFC. She’s most at home when striking, and Shevchenko is likely hoping for the two to exchange punches and then grind the challenger to the mat. However, as shown in her five-rounder against Erin Blanchfield last time out, Fiorot has upped her ground game.

Fiorot is a couple of years younger than Shevchenko, and while it’s looking to be a very close fight, the odds on the Betano UFC bets see Fiorot just ahead at -114 to the champion’s -108. Again, the oddsmakers are looking at fine margins, but the experts must have seen something to have the scales tip ever so slightly against the P4P No. 1.

Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena

Entering after what looks to be a close battle in the women’s flyweight division, Belal Muhammad will be entering for his first defense of the welterweight crown. The Chicago-born fighter beat Leon Edwards in their rematch in July 2024 by unanimous decision, but had to pull out of the rumble with Shavkat Rakhmonov in December.

Rakhmonov won’t be his challenger this time. Instead, it’ll be the 17-2-0 Australian Jack Della Maddalena. Both are on long winning streaks, but most have Muhammad as the favorite in this one. That might change, slightly, if he sticks to his claims reported by MMA Junkie that he won’t go for a single takedown as that’s a key weapon of his.

While Muhammad absolutely out-struck Edwards to defeat his rival, he also took him to the mat nine times. It’s a strong part of his game and would, naturally, be a useful weapon against the strike-happy and sharp-handed Della Maddalena. Then again, his bravado would certainly amp up if he manages to win standing up in Montréal.

UFC 315 looks to be a stellar card headlined by two very intriguing fights. In both cases, especially if Muhammad sticks to just striking, the co-main events could be rather close affairs.