Tag: UFC 315

Kamaru Usman: It’s not a ‘landslide’ that Belal Muhammad will beat Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315

Kamaru Usman thinks too many people are counting Jack Della Maddalena out against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315.

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] thinks too many people are counting [autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag] out against [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] at UFC 315.

Welterweight champion Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) makes his first title defense against Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the May 10 (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main event from Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

After repeatedly getting taken down against Gilbert Burns at UFC 299, Della Maddalena was able to rally to score a late knockout. Usman thinks that’s indicative of the type of challenge Della Maddalena will present to Muhammad, who boasts a strong grappling base.

“I think he’s a sleeper guy,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo. “I’ve seen him fight, and obviously I do know how to beat a guy like that. But the one thing about him is he’s so relaxed to where it’s very, very hard to beat him. When I say beat him, I don’t mean just win the fight. It’s very, very hard to discourage him from trying.

“There are some guys you can take down 50 million times, and they’re still going to keep trying to get up. And as wrestlers, we know how annoying that is. It’s very, very hard to do that with a guy like Jack Della Maddalena. Now I do think Belal has better grappling than him as far as taking him down, having top control, maybe looking for a choke here and there. But striking wise, I think JDM is much better than Belal.”

Muhammad opened up as a moderate favorite over Della Maddalena, but Usman says don’t count the Aussie out.

“It’s an intriguing fight,” Usman said. “I don’t think it’s a landslide that Belal is going to win the fight. I do think it’s a very intriguing fight. Honestly, I like the fight, and I can’t wait to see it. I think JDM presents a different threat than what Belal was expecting.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.

Overreaction Time: UFC 313 impact on Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall, Jose Aldo disrespect, more!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” covering how Alex Pereira’s result at UFC 313 will have a huge impact on the future.

The time for overreacting is here!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie reporter Danny Segura debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:

  • Forget warnings: Eye pokes should IMMEDIATELY result in a point deduction.
  • Magomed Ankalaev finishing [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] might be the ONLY WAY to save [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].
  • UFC 313: Alex Pereira winning by KO would be the PERFECT setup for a fight with Jon Jones.
  • UFC 313: Win or lose, this should be Alex Pereira’s last fight at light heavyweight.
  • UFC 313: No, [autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] does NOT have to be considered for a title shot.
  • UFC 315: Considering how [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]’s been booked, he should’ve stayed retired!

Watch the full episode in the video above.

Leon Edwards claims he offered to step in for Belal Muhammad rematch at UFC 315

Leon Edwards was hoping to get his title-fight rematch with UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad sooner than expected.

[autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] was hoping to get his title-fight rematch with UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] sooner than expected.

Muhammad was expecting to defend his welterweight title against Shavkat Rakhmonov May 10 at UFC 315 in Montreal, but Rakhmonov couldn’t make that date due to injury. That’s when the UFC opted to pull Jack Della Maddalena from his UFC Fight Night 255 headliner against Edwards on March 22 in London to face Muhammad.

Edwards (22-4 MMA, 14-3 UFC) will now face Sean Brady instead. However, before that came together, the former champion offered to run it back with Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC).

“I heard about my replacement fight probably a couple of weeks before,” Edwards said on his YouTube channel. “I was in talks with the UFC. I was trying to step in to fight Belal, but I know that they sold London around me, so it was difficult to take me off the card and leave Jack on the card, because it would be weird to let Jack headline London. I got a new opponent, Sean Brady. It’s a style that I’m used to, a style that I’m comfortable fighting. Yes, I’m looking forward to it. It should be good.”

Edwards says he was told by the UFC that his fight with Brady (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) will serve as a title eliminator,

“If Belal beats him, then, like I said, the rematch is there for me as well,” Edwards said. “I spoke to the UFC. They told me that after this win, this a is No. 1 contender fight. Whoever wins this fight for the title, well, when I win this fight, I fight for the title. That is my aim. My aim is to get back that two-time world championship, and the result of the fight with me and Belal, everyone knew that fight wasn’t me.”

Muhammad, who dethroned Edwards to become champion at UFC 304, responded by laughing off Edwards’ claim.

“😂😂someone tell him he got three long years ahead of him.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.

UFC 315 adds Modestas Bukauskas vs. Ion Cutelaba to Montreal lineup

Some light heavyweight firepower will be on display when the UFC returns to Canada this spring.

Some light heavyweight firepower will be on display when the UFC returns to Canada this spring.

The promotion Monday announced a new 205-pound matchup for UFC 315 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), which is set for Bell Centre in Montreal on May 10. [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag] (17-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) vs. [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] (19-10-1 MMA, 8-9-1 UFC) has been added to the lineup, which is headlined by a pair of title fights. The bout’s placement on the card was not revealed.

Cutelaba is coming off a first-round upset of Ibo ASlan at UFC Fight Night 252. He submitted Aslan with an arm-triangle choke for his second straight win bo build on a split call over Ivan Erslan this past September.

Cutelaba, from Moldova but based in Las Vegas, has just one post-fight bonus from the UFC in nearly 20 walks to the octagon. But he currently has wins in three of his past four fights – a marked step up from when just a year ago, he lost to Philipe Lins for his fourth setback in five fights.

Bukauskas, a two-time Cage Warriors champion, is in his second stint with the UFC. He returned to the UFC in 2023 and has four wins in five fights this latest time around. And at UFC Fight Night 252, a few hours before Cutelaba’s win, Bukauskas opened the show with a first-round TKO of Raffael Cerqueira.

Like Cutelaba, post-fight bonuses have been hard to come by. He has one in his nine UFC fight, and it came in his debut with the promotion in 2020.

With the addition, the UFC 315 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena – for welterweight title
  • Champ Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot – for women’s flyweight title
  • Gilbert Burns vs. Michael Morales
  • Jose Aldo vs. Aiemann Zahabi
  • Alexa Grasso vs. Natalia Silva
  • Jessica Andrade vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
  • Marc-Andre Barriault vs. Bruno Silva
  • Bekzat Almakhan vs. Brad Katona
  • Joel Alvarez vs. Benoit Saint Denis
  • Mike Malott vs. Charlie Radtke
  • Ivan Erslan vs. Navajo Stirling
  • Modestas Bukauskas vs. Ion Cutelaba

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.

Valentina Shevchenko down for Zhang Weili super fight with UFC 315 win: ‘Why not?’

Valentina Shevchenko is willing to give Zhang Weili a chance to become double champ if she gets past Manon Fiorot at UFC 315.

MONTREAL – [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] is interested in a UFC champion-vs.-champion fight with [autotag]Zhang Weili[/autotag].

Prior to being booked to defend her women’s flyweight title against Manon Fiorot in the UFC 315 co-main event on May 10 at Bell Centre in Montreal (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), there was talk of Shevchenko next defending against strawweight titleholder Weili, who made her desire to move up and capture a second belt clear following a February defense over Tatiana Suarez at UFC 312.

The timing seemingly didn’t align next for Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC), but if she manages to retain her belt against Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC), then “The Bullet” welcomes the idea of a super fight against Weili (26-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC).

“I’m open to all opportunities,” Shevchenko told MMA Junkie. “Weili, she showed a lot of heart in her fights and with all the years that she’s put into her performances, she’s showed that she’s a great fighter. Why not? It’s an amazing fight and I think all the fans are going to be excited to see that.”

Following Weili’s upset title defense over Suarez, UFC CEO Dana White said he was beyond impressed with the Chinese champion, and would oblige to he desires. It’s unknown why Weili, No. 2 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s pound-for-pound rankings, isn’t facing No. 3-ranked Shevchenko next, but both fighters and White have publicly stated they are on board.

Weili could very well be waiting in the wings to face the UFC 315 winner, and Shevchenko said it’s currently her only focus to ensure that it’s her, and not Fiorot.

“For me, as I say every time, it’s one step at a time,” Shevchenko said. “I’m not looking to jump in front to do something like that. I am focused on my next fight right now. It’s going to be Manon, and after we’re done with that and I step forward, me and my team are going to think and see what is next for me.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.

Belal Muhammad happy to rebook Shavkat Rakhmonov fight after UFC 315: ‘I want to take these guys’ 0s’

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad still has Shavkat Rakhmonov in his sights.

MONTREAL – UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] still has [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] in his sights.

Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) was scheduled to defend his title against Rakhmonov at UFC 310, but withdrew after suffering a bone infection in his foot. Rakhmonov faced Ian Machado Garry in a five-round fight instead, further cementing his No. 1 contender status with a win.

Muhammad was expecting to face Rakhmonov (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) at UFC 315 on May 10 in the UFC 315 (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main event from Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, but Rakhmonov couldn’t make that date due to injury.

Muhammad will now make his first title defense against Jack Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC), but still sees Rakhmonov as the No. 1 contender.

“I feel like he deserves it. He earned it with the Ian Garry fight,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “It’s so easy to get injured in this sport. The training is the hardest part of the sport. We just saw it recently with (Dan) Hooker, and with Arman (Tsarukyan). It sucks, and like I said, me building my legacy, I want to take these guys’ 0s.

“The next younger generation. That’s the JDMs, that’s the Shavkats. Unless there’s a big fight with (Joaquin) Buckley or if he goes out there and gets a big win over somebody, I think he could earn it. But right now, I’m looking at him then I’m looking at Shavkat.”

Muhammad’s current 11-fight unbeaten run includes wins over Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, Gilbert Burns, and Leon Edwards.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.

Sean Brady ‘can’t bet against’ welterweight champion Belal Muhammad at UFC 315

Sean Brady won’t doubt UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad ahead of his first title defense.

[autotag]Sean Brady[/autotag] won’t doubt UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] ahead of his first title defense.

Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) takes on Jack Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) May 10 in the UFC 315 (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) main event from Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Brady (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) suffered his lone-career loss to Muhammad by TKO at UFC 280, and admits the champion has continued to silence doubters during his 11-fight unbeaten streak.

“Jack can knock out anybody,” Brady said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “Obviously, that’s been shown. He’s a very hard puncher. But man – you can’t bet against Belal. He’s gone out there and proved that he can beat anybody in the world and he has.

“So you have to admire that, and you have to respect that. And yeah, I’m going to favor him, especially if you go look at how the Jack fight was going with Gilbert (Burns) until that last minute. So I think Belal has a good chance for sure.”

Brady’s next fight comes against Leon Edwards (22-4 MMA, 14-3 UFC), who Muhammad dethroned to become champion at UFC 304. Brady meets Edwards March 22 in the UFC Fight Night 255 headliner at The O2 in London.

Edwards pointed to the middle-of-the-night timing of his fight against Muhammad as a factor in his performance, but Brady says their fight would have likely played out the same way regardless.

“I think it would go that same way,” Brady said. “If you go back and look at Leon’s – even from his early fights, he’s a very good kickboxer, a very good striker, but he has been known to get taken down and kind of getting held down early on in his career by Claudio Silva. When him and Vicente Luque fought, Vicente had some success in the first round.

“He’s a striker. He has very good takedown defense, but if you get him down, you get him flat, he has a hard time getting back up. Even his third fight with Kamaru (Usman) was very, very close. So, if you go watch that fight then you watch Belal, the writing was on the wall, but Belal really pounded it in there of like a good game plan.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.

UFC 315 video: Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena first faceoff for title fight

Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena got face to face after Wednesday’s press conference to promote the UFC 315 main event.

MONTREAL – [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] and [autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag] got a first chance to size each other up Wednesday ahead of their surprise title fight at UFC 315.

After expected next title challenger Shavkat Rakhmonov had to turn down his opportunity, the streaking Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was instead afforded the opportunity to face welterweight champ Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) in his first defense after capturing the strap from Leon Edwards in August.

The title fight will serve as the main event of May 10 card at Bell Centre (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), and the pair kicked off promotional efforts in the host city with an on-sale press conference where they answered questions, followed by a faceoff.

Check out the video above to see Muhammad, No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings, and No. 6 Della Maddalena square up for the first time before UFC 315.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.

UFC 315 video: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot first faceoff for title clash

Valentina Shevchenko and Manon Fiorot brought the intensity at Wednesday’s first faceoff for their UFC 315 title fight.

MONTREAL – After many words exchanged on social media, [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] and [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag] came face to face for the first time Wednesday at the UFC 315 on-sale press conference.

Shevchenko (24-4-1 MMA, 13-3-1 UFC) will put her women’s flyweight title on the line for the first time of her second reign when she takes on streaking contender Fiorot (12-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the co-headliner of the May 10 card at Bell Centre (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).

Fiorot, No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie women’s flyweight rankings, made many claims that No. 1 Shevchenko was avoiding sharing the octagon. Shevchenko proved that wrong and looked as intense as ever ahead of a key bout in her career.

Check out the video above to see the staredown between Shevchenko and Fiorot from the UFC 315 press conference at the host venue in Canada.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.

Video replay: UFC 315 on-sale press conference from Montreal

UFC 315 headliners Belal Muhammad, Jack Della Maddalena, Valentina Shevchenko and more will attend Wednesday’s press conference.

MONTREAL – The road to UFC 315 will begin Wednesday with the first press conference ahead of the event, which takes place May 10 at Bell Center in Canada (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).

Two championship fights will headline the card, with [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] set to put welterweight gold on the line against [autotag]Jack Della Maddalena[/autotag] in the main event, with women’s flyweight champ [autotag]Valentina Shevchenko[/autotag] facing [autotag]Manon Fiorot[/autotag] in the co-main event.

All four fighters will be in attendance at the on-sale press conference at the host venue, as well as Aiemann Zahabi (who fights Jose Aldo) and Jasmine Jasudavicius (who fights Jessica Andrade). UFC executive Dave Shaw will host the festivities.

The press conference is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. ET, and you can watch MMA Junkie’s live video stream above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 315.