UFC 315 on Saturday featured 12 bouts resulting in five finishes. Montreal, Quebec, Canada hosted a double feature of title bouts resulting Manon Fiorot falling short of winning the women’s flyweight title and Belal Muhammad losing his welterweight title. A former champion turned #1 contender as well as a last second replacement rounds out this week of group of losers. Only one finish on the five-fight main card- in a short notice fight as well. A sign of some stellar matchmaking for this card and hopefully, to come from it.
Belal Muhammad
Belal Muhammad was unsuccessful in defending his title on Saturday when Jack Della Maddalena defeated him by unanimous decision. Muhammad’s loss at UFC 315 was his first in 11 fights, dating back to his January of 2019 unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Geoff Neal. A failed first title defense at the hands of the #5 ranked contender, rough stuff- at least Belal has the added bonus that it was a great fight, as many fans and critics said he was incapable of taking part in one. The bout even won Fight of the Night honors. Damage is still done for Belal, nevertheless, as he is unlikely to get an immediate rematch due to the current landscape of the welterweight and lightweight divisions. Not to mention Belal turns 37 later this year.
Belal should fight former welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, in his next fight. Kamaru currently has a bout on the books against #7 ranked Joaquin Buckley on June 14th. The timing might not match up the greatest, but nearly everything else does. Belal and Kamaru are both former champs, and this is a fresh matchup a lot of fans want to see. Plus, the two have exchanged some words in the past. They share some similar opponents too (Leon Edwards, Gilbert Burns, Demian Maia).
Regardless of whether the #4 ranked welterweight loses against Buckley or not, this would be great fight for both men. Usman is relevant no matter the outcome of his bout with Buckley, also aging at 38. And Usman has lost his last three (Leon Edwards x2, Khamzat Chimaev). Perfect time for this square off of somewhat similar styles. Winner would prove themselves still relevant within the welterweight’s elites. While the loser, would likely be banished (to being a gatekeeper of the elites of the division) maybe top 8-10.
Belal’s next fight: Kamaru Usman
Manon Fiorot
Valentina Shevchenko successfully defended her title against Manon Fiorot in a unanimous decision in the co main event on Saturday. Manon had not lost an MMA fight since her very first one back in 2018, going 12-0 since then, 7-0 with the UFC, to come up short against “Bullet” at UFC 315. Manon entered the fight as the #2 ranked contender within the division so she should not fall too far, especially considering her performance.
A reasonable next fight for Manon would be against Alexa Grasso. Alexa also competed on the main card of UFC 315, so the timing would be great. Alexa entered her fight as the #1 ranked women’s flyweight falling to the #5 ranked, Natalia Silva. Grasso might currently be riding a 2-fight losing skid, but she rode a six-fight unbeaten streak before that, including a win and a split draw against Shevchenko. Perfect fight to help Fiorot reestablish her dominance as Grasso’s loss against Silva might age well. Fiorot would be looking at another title shot with a win. With a loss, she could slip out of the top 5.
Manon’s next fight: Alexa Grasso
Jose Aldo
Jose Aldo lost a unanimous decision to #15 ranked, Aiemann Zahabi, on the main card of UFC 315. The fight (and before the fight) saw a whirlwind of twists and turns for the #11 ranked ‘bantamweight.’ The fight was moved to a featherweight fight last second due to Aldo having trouble with the weight cut. Then in the bout, the UFC hall of famer looked incredibly strong, utilizing the new ruleset and badly hurting his opponent, but his gas tank faltered. The legend then narrowly avoided getting finished himself toward the end of the fight before the controversial result was announced. Aldo announced his retirement which was very emotional and potentially a spur of the moment thing. Considering the week he had and the outcome of the fight, we will honor it with no next matchup. Happy trails, legend.
Jose’s next fight: Retirement
Alexa Grasso
Alexa Grasso became another victim of Natalia Silva‘s active striking and movement when she lost a unanimous decision on Saturday. Grasso looked good but just couldn’t corral and out-land the dynamic strikes of her opponent. As previously mentioned, Alexa entered the fight ranked at #1 in the division while Silva was ranked at #5. Makes the outcome hurt that much more but doesn’t truly diminish Alexa’s stock.
Grasso’s next fight should be against Manon Fiorot. Manon wasn’t able to get it done against Valentina later on in the night and Grasso got a similar result in her most recent fight with Bullet. This would be a great damage control fight for Alexa to reestablish that she is still right there in the title contention conversation, still. Loss for Grasso in that fight would undoubtedly spell her sliding a ways out of the top five. Win could potentially birth a title shot but it depends on the timing as well as the champion at the time.
Alexa’s next fight: Manon Fiorot
Kyle Prepolec
It looked like business as usual for Benoit Saint-Denis as he secured a second-round submission against Kyle Prepolec in the first fight on the main card of UFC 315. If the UFC even decides to keep Prepolec, who is now 0-3 with the promotion, it’d be because he stepped up on short notice.
Kyle’s next fight should be against someone in a somewhat similar situation. Elves Brenner could make a lot of sense. Brenner is 3-2 with the UFC but is on a two-fight skid. Also, all three of his wins (Zubaira Tukhugov, Guram Kutatelaze and Kaynan Kruschewsky) are no longer on the UFC roster. Not to mention, Brenner’s most recent fight, an April of 2024 third round TKO loss to Joel Alvarez- was who Benoit Saint Denis was originally supposed to fight on 315 in the first place. Great scrap here with the loser being cut out of a crowded division and the winner getting to stay but still in a precarious position.
Kyle’s next fight: Elves Brener
