Montreal is a city that knows its combat sports history. It’s the land of GSP, after all. But on May 10, 2025, the Bell Centre bore witness to a changing of the guard that basically reset the landscape of the 170-pound division. If you’re looking for the short answer to who won UFC 315, it was Australia’s own Jack Della Maddalena, who pulled off a massive upset to snatch the welterweight gold from Belal Muhammad.
It wasn't some fluke knockout or a weird injury stoppage. No, this was a twenty-five-minute chess match played at 100 miles per hour.
Jack Della Maddalena is now the man. The Perth native walked into Quebec as a hungry contender and walked out as the third Australian champion in the promotion's history. He did it by doing the one thing everyone thought was impossible: he made Belal Muhammad’s wrestling look human.
The Main Event: Jack Della Maddalena vs. Belal Muhammad
Going into this fight, the narrative was pretty set. Belal "Remember the Name" Muhammad was supposed to use that relentless, grinding pressure to tire out the younger striker. Most pundits thought Belal would just clinch him against the fence, drag him to the mat, and win a boring but effective decision.
Honestly? It didn’t go down like that at all.
Della Maddalena’s takedown defense was the story of the night. He stayed upright for almost the entire fight, only conceding a single takedown late in the fifth round when he was already ahead on the cards. By then, it didn't really matter. His jab was like a piston. He busted up Muhammad’s nose early and never let the champion find his rhythm.
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The judges saw it 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46. All for the new champ.
Why the result surprised everyone
Belal hadn't lost a fight since 2019. He was on an 11-fight unbeaten streak and had just dismantled Leon Edwards to get the belt. But Jack Della Maddalena is a different kind of animal. He’s now won 18 fights in a row. That’s a ridiculous stat in modern MMA. After the fight, Jack even called out Islam Makhachev. He wants the pound-for-pound king to come up to welterweight. Talk about confidence.
Valentina Shevchenko Proves She’s Still the Queen
The co-main event was just as intense, though maybe a bit more tactical. Valentina Shevchenko successfully defended her flyweight title against Manon Fiorot. This was "Bullet" doing what she does best—negating her opponent's weapons until they have nothing left.
Manon Fiorot is huge for 125 pounds. She’s fast and has that weird, karate-style movement that’s hard to time. For the first three rounds, it was anyone’s fight. It was kinda tense in the arena. But then the championship rounds happened.
Shevchenko’s experience took over. She landed a massive right hook in the fourth that dropped Fiorot, and that was basically the turning point. The French challenger looked gassed by the middle of the fifth, and Valentina just cruised to a unanimous decision victory (48-47 across the board).
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A Bitter Goodbye for a Legend
We also have to talk about Jose Aldo. The King of Rio returned to face Aiemann Zahabi, and it was... emotional. Zahabi is a Montreal local, and the crowd was deafening.
Aldo looked sharp in the first. He had that classic speed. He even hurt Zahabi badly with a head kick in the third round. But he emptied the tank trying to get the finish. Zahabi, showing incredible grit, survived the onslaught, got on top, and dominated the final minutes.
When the decision came back for Zahabi, Jose Aldo left his gloves in the center of the Octagon. It looks like the legendary career of the greatest featherweight of all time has finally come to a close. It was a tough way to go out, losing a 29-28 decision to a guy who was technically an underdog, but that’s the fight game.
UFC 315 Full Results and Highlights
The rest of the card was a finish-heavy highlight reel. If you missed the prelims, you missed some of the best action of the year.
- Natalia Silva dominated Alexa Grasso. Silva is now on a 13-fight winning streak. She looked about two steps faster than Grasso the entire night.
- Benoit Saint Denis got back in the win column by choking out Kyle Prepolec in the second round. "The God of War" looked terrifying again after a rough 2024.
- Mike Malott sent the Canadian fans home happy with a 26-second knockout of Charles Radtke. A vicious left hook did the job.
- Jasmine Jasudavicius pulled off the biggest win of her life, submitting the legendary Jessica Andrade in the very first round.
Performance Bonuses
Dana White handed out the $50,000 checks to some very deserving fighters. Jasmine Jasudavicius and Marc-Andre Barriault (who scored a brutal first-round KO on the early prelims) took home Performance of the Night honors. Fight of the Night? Obviously, it went to Jack Della Maddalena and Belal Muhammad.
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What This Means for the Welterweight Division
The welterweight division is now wide open. With Jack Della Maddalena holding the strap, a lot of old matchups don't make sense anymore. Shavkat Rakhmonov is lurking. Ian Machado Garry is right there too.
The most intriguing part of the post-fight press conference was Jack’s insistence on fighting Makhachev. Usually, champions want to defend their belt against their own contenders first, but Jack seems hell-bent on avengeing his fellow Aussie, Alexander Volkanovski, who lost twice to Islam.
If you’re a fan of high-level striking and elite-level takedown defense, you’ve got a new favorite fighter. Jack Della Maddalena isn't just a champion; he’s a problem for everyone at 170.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you want to keep up with what happens next, here is how the landscape has shifted:
- Watch the Rankings: Expect Jack Della Maddalena to jump significantly in the Pound-for-Pound rankings. He was #5 at welterweight; he’s #1 now.
- Follow the Call-outs: Keep an eye on Islam Makhachev’s social media. If he accepts the challenge, we are looking at one of the biggest superfights of 2026.
- Farewell to a Goat: Go back and watch Jose Aldo’s WEC and early UFC runs. With his retirement at UFC 315, an entire era of MMA has officially ended.
- The Rise of Natalia Silva: She is clearly the next challenger for Shevchenko. That fight will likely happen late this year or early next.
The event in Montreal proved that the UFC is in a state of constant evolution. New stars are born, legends retire, and the "unbeatable" champions eventually find their match. Jack Della Maddalena is the reality now. Get used to it.