UFC 315: Preview And Picks

by Will Rogers

Sunday, May 04, 2025
Fight fans are in for a treat this weekend. UFC 315 will be held at the Bell Center in Montreal. The main card is loaded. Both the main event and the co-main event are for titles. Valentina Shevchenko defends her flyweight belt against Manon Fiorot. After that, Jack Della Maddalena will challenge Belal Muhammad for the welterweight crown. Let's take a closer look. 

Main Event
This was originally supposed to feature Belal Muhammad defending his belt against Shavkak Rakhmonov. When Rakhmonov dropped out, we now get Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena. Muhammad, 36-years old, is 24-3. He's laying -225 at the betting window. Maddalena, 28-years old, has a 17-2 record. He's 7-0 in the UFC.

Each standing 5-foot-11, both fighters have similar builds. Muhammad, has won six straight. Before that, he had a no-contest vs. Leon Edwards. Prior to the no-contest, "Remember The Name" had won four in a row. So, that's 10 wins with one no-contest in his last 11 fights. He hasn't lost since 2019. In his last fight, Muhammad dominated Leon Edwards in front of Edward's fans in Manchester. Maddalena's winning streak goes back even further than Belal's. As a matter of fact, he's won 17 straight. Naturally, both fighters are coming in extremely confident. 

Gilbert Burns, a welterweight contender who’s fought both  Muhammad and Maddalena believes that Maddelena is being underestimated. Burns said this: “The fight is closer than people think. JDM (Maddalena) is super underrated, people have no idea. That guy hits so hard, and his jiu-jitsu is getting so much better training with Craig Jones.

The Verdict: Muhammad is the real deal but the value lies with the underdog. Off 17 straight wins, JDM has a real shot at seizing the moment and scoring a monumental upset. 

Co-Main Event
Valentina Shevchenko (24-4-1) is the champion. She's had an outstanding career and has taken on the best of the best. She holds all kinds of records in the flyweight division and is widely recognized as being one of the top female fighters of all-time. However, challenger Manon Fiorot (12-1, 7-0 in the UFC) is the -162 betting favorite. That says a lot about how good the lesser known Fiorot is. 

We last saw Fiorot in 2024, earning a 5-round decision against Erin Blanchfield. That was Fiorot's first UFC Main Event. Prior to that, she defeated Rose Namajunas. Blanchfield was on a 9-fight winning streak and Namajunas was a former UFC champ. So, those were quality opponents. Fiorot, a high level striker, will be the first French female to fight for a belt. 

Shevchenko is off three consecutive fights against Alexa Grasso. (Grasso also fights on the UFC 315 card.) She lost the first, drew the second and won the third. Prior to the Grasso trilogy, Shevchenko had won nine straight. She's avenged two of her four career losses and the other two both came against Amanda Nunes, perhaps the best women's fighter in UFC history. It'd be easy to assume that her age (37) is the reason that Shevchenko is the underdog. However, Fiorot is 35-years old herself. 

The Verdict: Once again, the value is on. the underdog. Fiorot is really tough but she's never fought someone as good as Shevchenko. Go with the champ.

Other Notable Fights
Former champion Jose Aldo is a -230 favorite against Aiemann Zahabi, the only Canadian on the main card. Off her three fights against Shevchenko, Alexa Grasso takes on Brazil's Natalia Silva. Off 12 straight wins, Silva is a -225 favorite. 

Politics
Commentator Joe Rogan won't be making the trip to Montreal. Last month, he said that: "He'd rather go to Russia than Canada." Rogan still isn't going but did backtrack on his initial statement a little. "I just wanna say to the Canadian people, I said the other day that I don't go to Canada anymore, I'd rather go to Russia. I was joking around, first of all. I do not go to Canada anymore, but it's because of the government."

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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