Montreal was once a hotbed for mixed martial arts, however, it has been a whopping 10 years since the UFC last held an event in the city.
That streak will end this weekend with UFC 315 presented by Skilled Trades College, which will feature not one but two championship matchups, a handful of former UFC titleholders, plus some of the best Canadian fighters on the roster.
Saturday’s anticipated card is just the fourth UFC event to take place in Canada this decade.
Mixed martial arts legend Georges St-Pierre was often the headliner on Montreal fight cards in the past, going 4-0 in front of the Quebec crowd between 2008 and 2013 and defending his welterweight title there on multiple occasions. Fittingly, the title St-Pierre once held when he ruled over the 170-pound division will be on the line in the main event.
Here are some key questions and all you need to know ahead of UFC 315.
HAS MONTREAL EVER HAD TWO TITLE FIGHTS ON ONE CARD?
Somewhat surprisingly, Saturday will be the first time a UFC card in Montreal has featured multiple championship bouts.
UFC 315 is headlined by current welterweight champ Belal Muhammad attempting to make his first title defence against Jack Della Maddalena. Muhammad beat Leon Edwards to win the title last summer at UFC 304.
Muhammad vs. Della Maddalena will be the fourth time the welterweight title has been up for grabs there. St-Pierre won back his title from Matt Serra at UFC 83 then defended his title against Carlos Condit in 2012 and Nick Diaz in 2013.
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot in the co-main event is for the women’s flyweight title and will be the first women’s championship fight to take place on a Montreal card.
The welterweight title has been on the line in three of the UFC’s seven Montreal cards. Non-GSP title fights that have happened in Montreal over the years include: Anderson Silva defended the middleweight title against Thales Leites at UFC 97 in 2009; Mauricio “Shogun” Rua knocked out Lyoto Machida to become 205-pound champ at UFC 113 in 2010; Demetrious Johnson defended his flyweight belt against Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC 186 in 2015.
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
WHO ELSE IS ON THE CARD THIS WEEKEND?
In addition to the pair of title fights, three respected former UFC champions (Jose Aldo, Jessica Andrade and Alexa Grasso) are set to compete on the undercard against red-hot opponents, and, like many Canada-based events, this card showcases some of the best MMA talent from north of the border.
The 12-bout fight card had been set in stone until an unfortunate Sunday announcement from one of the most exciting lightweights on the UFC roster.
A 155-pound contest between Spain’s Joel Alvarez and France’s Benoit Saint Denis was supposed to kick off the pay-per-view main card, however, Alvarez disclosed a hand injury that will prevent him from competing at the event.
Saint Denis will remain on the card, though, with Canadian lightweight Kyle Prepolec getting a second shot in the UFC by stepping up on short notice. The 35-year-old from Windsor, Ont., had an 0-2 UFC stint in 2019 but has gone 4-1 since then.
Fellow ranked lightweight Mateusz Gamrot claimed on Monday morning that Saint Denis turned down a short-notice matchup with him. Gamrot called Saint Denis a "coward" on social media for turning down that possible matchup.
MAIN CARD
-- Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena
-- Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot
-- Jose Aldo vs. Aiemann Zahabi*
-- Alexa Grasso vs. Natalia Silva
-- Benoit Saint Denis vs. Kyle Prepolec
PRELIMINARY CARD
-- Mike Malott* vs. Charles Radtke
-- Modestas Bukauskas vs. Ion Cutelaba
-- Jessica Andrade vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius*
-- Navajo Stirling vs. Ivan Erslan
-- Marc-Andre Barriault* vs. Bruno Silva
-- Brad Katona* vs. Bekzat Almakhan
-- Jeong-yeong Lee vs. Daniel Santos
*representing Canada
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING THIS WEEK?
Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter and Arden Zwelling will be on site in Quebec for the UFC’s return to the province, so stay tuned to Sportsnet.ca for exclusive content and one-on-one fighter interviews. Former UFC middleweight title contender Patrick Cote will also be in town to help Sportsnet cover the action leading up to the event.
May 7, Media Day: Official media events begin Wednesday when participating athletes will speak with gathered reporters at the fighter hotel.
May 8, Pre-fight press conference: UFC 315 athletes will be on stage Thursday beginning at approximately 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT. Scheduled participants include all main card fighters plus a selection of featured fighters from the prelims. This event will be available to stream live on Sportsnet+.
May 9, UFC 315 Official Weigh-in Show Presented by Skilled Trades College: Fans can start their Friday morning by tuning into live coverage of the official weigh-in beginning at approximately 8:55 a.m. ET / 5:55 a.m. PT. This special event will be available to stream live on Sportsnet.ca, Sportsnet+ and on Sportsnet’s YouTube channel.
All participating athletes will have a one-hour window to make weight Friday morning. Bronsteter and Cote will provide instant analysis, preview the matchups and speak with several fighters during the broadcast.
May 9, Special Q&A: Several hours after the official weigh-in has wrapped up, GSP will be joined on stage by former UFC title challengers Patrick Cote, Rory MacDonald and Valerie Letourneau to answer questions about their fighting careers, Saturday’s card and much more beginning at approximately 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT on Friday.
May 9, Ceremonial weigh-in: Later on Friday, fighters will face off with their respective opponents in front of cheering fans on the eve of the event. This will also be available to stream live on Sportsnet+ beginning at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT.
May 10, The live fights: Saturday’s preliminary card coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT with the pay-per-view main card available for purchase through Sportsnet+ set to start at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
WILL GSP BE THERE?
Would it really feel like a UFC event in Montreal if the Canadian legend didn’t make some type of appearance? Not only will he be taking part in that aforementioned Q&A on Friday ahead of the ceremonial weigh-in, St-Pierre will have a role on fight night as an official cornerman helping his friend and Tristar Gym teammate (and occasional Sportsnet contributor) Aiemann Zahabi, the younger brother of St-Pierre’s longtime head trainer Firas Zahabi.
WHAT ABOUT JOE ROGAN?
The popular UFC commentator, on the other hand, will not be in Montreal. Rogan claimed back in March during an episode of his podcast that he wouldn’t be attending UFC 315 because: “I don’t go to Canada anymore. I don’t. I’d rather go to Russia.”
Rogan’s comments were relating to the country’s current state of politics, but they were also somewhat tongue-in-cheek because he has not been travelling outside the United States for international UFC events for a couple years at this point.
Former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will take Rogan’s spot on the cageside commentary team beside Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier. Brendan Fitzgerald, who often assumes play-by-play responsibilities when Anik is off, is also expected to be on site, providing additional reporting.
HOW DOES MACHADO GARRY FACTOR INTO EVERYTHING?
Welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry is coming off a unanimous decision win over Carlos Prates in late April and will be in Montreal this week to serve as the official backup fighter should either Muhammad or Della Maddalena be unable to compete for any reason. UFC president Dana White confirmed this late last month after Machado Garry’s latest win.
Not every main event or title fight has a designated backup fighter, although as we’ve seen this year, last-minute changes are part of the game and it’s better to be prepared and avoid what happened earlier this year at UFC 311 when the main event had to be changed on the eve of the event.
Also, just because Machado Garry is serving as the official backup fighter this week doesn't necessarily mean he is also next in line to face the winner of Saturday’s main event if he goes unneeded.
