The winner of Saturday’s welterweight championship main event could have a special guest present them with the gold belt.
Former longtime ruler of the 170-pound division, Georges St-Pierre, participated in a Q&A Friday afternoon prior to the ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC 315 presented by Skilled Trades College, and one of the first questions he was asked was would he’d be interested in wrapping the title around the waist of either current champ Belal Muhammad or challenger Jack Della Maddalena?
“Of course, if they want me to do it, I’ll do it,” St-Pierre said before adding, “but Saturday I’m gonna work as a cornerman and my priority is to be there for Aiemann Zahabi.”
The Canadian mixed martial arts legend and UFC Hall of Famer honed his craft at Montreal’s Tristar Gym under head coach Firas Zahabi, the older brother of Aiemann, and he will be one of Zahabi’s official cornermen.
“He has an incredible task at hand fighting Jose Aldo,” St-Pierre said of Zahabi. “If everything goes according to plan and we get the (win) and they want me to do it, why not? It would be an honour.”
Watch UFC 315 on Sportsnet+
Belal Muhammad faces Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title and women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko takes on top contender Manon Fiorot in the UFC's anticipated return to Montreal. Watch UFC 315 on Saturday, May 10 with prelim coverage beginning 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and pay-per-view main card starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
Purchase the event
The former two-weight champion, who turns 44 later this month, headlined four UFC events in Montreal during his career, going 4-0 in front of the Quebec crowd between 2008 and 2013 and defending his welterweight title in Montreal on multiple occasions.
Muhammad, who won the title by beating Leon Edwards last summer at UFC 314, has spoken fondly of St-Pierre this week.
The 36-year-old reigning titleholder told Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter Friday it would be "a dream come true" for GSP to wrap the belt around his waist following what would be his first title defence.
Muhammad vs. Della Maddalena will be the fourth time the welterweight title has been up for grabs at a UFC event hosted in Montreal.
St-Pierre became a two-time welterweight champ when he won back his title from Matt Serra at UFC 83 in 2008, then defended the belt against Carlos Condit in 2012 and Nick Diaz in 2013 – he also headlined UFC 124 in Montreal in a non-title fight against Josh Koscheck in 2010.
Fellow retired Canadian UFC title challengers Rory MacDonald, Patrick Cote, Valerie Letourneau and David Loiseau also participated in the Friday Q&A with UFC play-by-play announcer Jon Anik serving as the host.
Muhammad is unbeaten in his past 11 fights, while Della Maddalena is 17-2 as a pro, riding a 17-fight winning streak.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.