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Andreas Hale
Not every fight card is a home run on paper, and when the lineup for UFC 315 was announcedplenty of fans rolled their eyes and yearned for more. Fortunately, with such a low bar to clear, the competitors who headed to Montreal impressed with their performances. Chief among them was the main event title fight, which featured Maddalena jack overcoming the pressure of Belal Muhammad to capture the UFC welterweight championship in a battle that few expected to be that entertaining.
The main event was supported by strong performances from Mike Malott, Bekzat Almakhan, Jasmine Jasudavicius and Natalia Silva. Though not every fight was crowd-pleasing, this far exceeded the expectations for the UFC’s return to Montreal.
After each pay-per-view, we break down and assess the quality of each fight and the fight card itself based on skill displayed, competitiveness and what is at stake.
Welterweight championship: Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Result: Della Maddalena defeats Muhammad by unanimous decision
Grade: A-
Expectations were low heading into this championship fight, and it overdelivered in part because of Muhammad’s commitment to striking rather than deploying his takedowns. The strategy resulted in a tense fight in which the two welterweights jousted for Octagon position then relied on their punching prowess. Della Maddalena was sharper, but Muhammad’s pressure resulted in plenty of chances to land big shots. Muhammad absorbed a lot of blows to his face as Della Maddalena continued the pressure. During some moments, it appeared Della Maddalena might be close to stopping the champion. Hopefully, Muhammad has shaken the undeserved “boring” tag after his performance, while Della Maddalena has proven he can be an exciting champion.
Women’s flyweight: Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fior
Result: Shevchenko defeats Fiorot by unanimous decision
Grade: B-
This was a long, brutal battle between Shevchenko and Fiorot. Shevchenko’s experience in title fights reigned supreme, but Fiorot proved she could overcome adversity after having her nose busted just minutes into the fight. It wasn’t an entertaining fight, but it was demanding of both women, who were careful not to make a critical mistake. The bout was like a movie that you leave the theater enjoying but are fine not seeing again.
Men’s bantamweight: José Aldo vs. Aiemann Zahabi
Result: Zahabi defeats Aldo by unanimous decision
Grade: B+
This felt like a vintage Aldo performance as the “King of Rio” found his old form early in the fight. Then, Aldo hurt Zahabi in Round 3 and pursued a finish with a wicked punt kick to the face. However, Aldo didn’t relent. That’s when Zahabi hit Aldo with everything in his arsenal. After dropping Aldo, Zahabi followed him to the canvas and battered his face with elbows. That epic final round made a relatively pedestrian Round 2 easy to forget. Zahabi picked up the biggest win of his career — albeit controversial because it felt like Aldo won the first two rounds — by surviving Aldo’s offensive onslaught. Aldo retired after the fightseemingly out of frustration, but this fight is certainly worth watching for the thrilling conclusion.
Women’s flyweight: Alexa Grasso vs. Natalia Silva
Result: Silva defeats Grasso by unanimous decision
Grade: B
This might not have been aesthetically pleasing for some viewers because of Silva’s constant movement. However, this brilliant performance cemented Silva as the division’s top contender. Silva’s footwork was mesmerizing, setting up her kicks and counters. Grasso couldn’t find her, and just when Grasso thought she had, she was met with a kick or punch to the face or body. Grasso’s face was bruised by the end of the fight, a sign that she wasn’t running. Silva’s technical skill is championship-worthy, and she made it look easy against the former champion.
Lightweight: Benoît Saint Denis vs. Kyle greasy
Result: Saint Denis defeats Prepolec by second-round submission
Grade: C
This was a strange fight to grade. Prepolec — at +700, per ESPN BET — was a massive underdog against Saint Denis. However, Saint Denis had a more difficult time dispatching Perpolec than anticipated. Prepolec survived a grind of a first round that was almost exclusively grappling, then he clipped Saint Denis several times in the second round before “God of War” put it all together for the finishing sequence. Saint Denis had to work for it, but he got the result he needed to end a two-fight losing streak.
Welterweight: Mike Malott vs. Charles Radtke
Result: Malott defeats Radtke by second-round KO
Grade: B+
The way Malott demonstrated patience and refused to get sucked into an emotional battle with Radtke, who attempted to make the fight America versus Canadawas the highlight of this bout. Malott waited for the right opportunity in the second round and put a left hook behind a right hand that rocked Radtke. Be patient with this one because the knockout was impressive.
Women’s flyweight: Jessica Andrade vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
Result: Jasudavicius defeats Andrade by first-round submission
Grade: B
This was a flawless performance from Jasudavicius in her home country. She took out a former champion with ease. However, watching Andrade put up little to no resistance in the fight was sad. The real question for Andrade is whether it is time to hang up the gloves.
Light heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas vs. Ion Cuteba
Result: Bukauskas defeats cute by split decision
Grade: D-
The scores were just as confusing as the fight. Bukauskas never got out of first gear and Cutelaba, who is normally not in bad fights, had an equally uninspired performance. Somehow, a judge scored the fight 30-27 in Bukauskas’ favor. If you really want to watch this fight, go ahead. The only reason you should is to make sense of the scorecards.
Light heavyweight: Navajo Stirling vs. Ivan Erslan
Result: Stirling defeats Erslan by unanimous decision
Grade: C-
Stirling couldn’t get out of the way of Erslan’s right hand in the first round, looked sluggish in a grapple-heavy second, but the action picked up in the final three minutes of the third. Sterling dropped Erslan with a right hand and, surprisingly, Erslan asked for more. A frantic brawl ensued, with Sterling nearly finishing Erslan. The City Kickboxing fighter didn’t get the finish, but the last round saved this fight from getting a failing score.
Middleweight: Mark-Andre Barriault vs. Bruno Silva
Result: Barriault defeats Silva by first-round KO
Grade: B
If you blinked, you might have missed this finish. Barriault, a Quebec native, summoned the energy of his fellow countrymen in the crowd, pulled Silva into a clinch along the cage and delivered a devastating short elbow that turned the lights out. The knockout might not have been as pretty as some of the bigger ones this year, but it was undoubtedly one of the most violent. Silva stayed on the canvas for several minutes before he left the Octagon on a stretcher.
Featherweight: Daniel Santos vs. JeongYeong Lee
Result: Santos defeats Lee by unanimous decision
Grade: B-
Santos, returning after a 23-month layoff, looked more than prepared for his showdown with Lee despite fighting in a different weight class on short notice. This fight started fast, with Santos and Lee throwing punches and each landing combinations. But Santos’ approach was smarter, mixing in takedown attempts with his striking to keep Lee from settling into a rhythm. The action slowed in the second half of the fight, but Santos’ performance was strong, built on an active opening round.
Men’s bantamweight: Brad soldier vs. Bekzat Almakhan
Result: Almakhan defeats Katona by first-round KO
Grade: A-
Almakhan flew under the radar after nearly finishing Umar Nurmagomedov a little more than a year ago in his Octagon debut. “The Turan Warrior” sent a harsh reminder to the MMA world by becoming the first fighter to stop Katona when Almakhan sent him packing with a beautifully timed counter uppercut just one minute into the fight. That early loss might be the worst thing to happen to the bantamweight division because Almakhan could be a headache for the 135-pound division.
UFC 315 fight card grade: B
A fight card with low expectations overdelivered, thanks to a wildly entertaining main event that few anticipated and several noteworthy performances from individual fighters. There wasn’t anything unwatchable, aside from the sluggishly paced Bukauskas-Cutelaba fight. It’s one of the rare occasions when low expectations made every performance more enjoyable. This might be one of the top fight cards of 2025.
