‘Pure martial arts’: UFC returns to Montreal for 1st time in 10 years

There’s just under three months to go for fight fans as the UFC makes its long-awaited return to Montreal for UFC 315.

Belal (Remember The Name) Muhammad and Valentina (Bullet) Shevchenko are putting their titles on the line May 10 at the Bell Centre.

Welterweight champion Muhammad (24-3-0 with one no contest) takes on No. 4-ranked welterweight contender Jack Della Maddalena (17-2-0) in the 170-pound division in the main event.

“I can’t wait, right? I gotta make a statement with this,” Muhammad said at a press conference Wednesday. “They haven’t been here forever. The fans are dying for a big show, a good show, and I think everybody on this card is hungry, and I can’t wait to be the one to put a stamp on it.”

Muhammad was reportedly set to fight No. 2-ranked welterweight contender Shavkat Rakhmonov at the Bell Centre, though he had to pull out due to injury. UFC president Dana White confirmed the upcoming bout on February 19th on social media.

“I’m the best fighter in the world, he’s coming out of the kiddie pool and he’s going straight into the deep end of the ocean,” Muhammad said. “This is gonna be a bad night for him,”

Muhammad, who is unbeaten in 11 fights, says it’s surreal to headline the fight and he hopes to follow in the same footsteps of his favourite fighter: Montreal’s Georges St-Pierre (GSP).

“To be able to fight now in Montreal, it comes full circle,” Muhammad said. “Now I’m the welterweight champion, something that I’ve always wanted. And I finally got it. And now that I’m the headliner, I’m going to put on the show and I’m going to make it an amazing night for myself and the fans.”

In the co-main, flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (24-4-1 with one no-contest) makes her Canadian debut against No. 5-ranked women’s flyweight contender Manon (The Beast) Fiorot (12-1-0) of France.

“I’m ready to fight and I’m ready to put the best of me, the best of my performance, and just like less than three months ahead of us for the hard training camp and put the show for the Canadian fans in Montreal,” Shevchenko said.

“It’s gonna be a pure martial arts, it’s going to be everything, like beautiful violence.”

This return marks the first UFC show in Montreal since UFC 186 in April 2015 when then-flyweight champion Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson defeated Japan’s Kyoji Horiguchi in the main event. 

UFC 315 will mark the UFC’s eighth show in Montreal and 35th overall in Canada, spread across 11 cities.

At Wednesday’s press conference, several of Canada’s UFC stars spoke about the card.

“I’m gonna hit a lot of dreams all at once,” said Laval’s Aiemann Zahabi, the No. 14-ranked bantamweight contender. “First dream’s fighting in the Bell Centre for the UFC, the biggest MMA organization in the world. Dream comes true for me May 10.”

“Canada is a fighting country, man. And in our two biggest sports, hockey and lacrosse, we allow fighting. So don’t miss out coming to the UFC in Montreal. It’s going to be fighting all night. You’re going to have a great show.”

Added Ontario’s Jasmine Jasudavicius, the No. 9-ranked women’s flyweight contender: “To be coming to Montreal where GSP started like you were saying and for us to be able to kind of continue on in the footsteps of the great, it kind of is surreal for me.”

Della Maddalena was slated to face England’s Leon (Rocky) Edwards, the No. 1-ranked welterweight contender in London on March 22 for a Fight Night bout, though No. 5-ranked contender Sean Brady is set to step in for him against Edwards.

Maddalena has won 17 straight fights since losing his first two as a pro in 2016.

“It’s a big moment for the two competitors that go in there. It’s a big moment,” Della Maddalena said. “They put a lot of hard work into it, a lot of sacrifices. And then it’s a brutal game. Anything can happen. You can get seriously hurt. So it’s quite a high stakes battle. But the event itself is a pretty electrifying event.”

“I’m happy to come out here. It’s my dream. You know, my dream is to be fighting for the belt and this is it.”

UFC 315 tickets go on sale Friday for the May 10 fight on Ticketmaster. The main card is live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET. The prelims will be available on Sportsnet at 8 p.m. ET.