The Ultimate Fighting Championship was finally back in Montréal, Québec for the first time in ten years. Though the event may not have caught the eyes of every casual fan, there was a lot of quality up and down the card. It featured three consequential fights in the women’s flyweight division, an intriguing clash of styles in the main event, plus an appearance from the legend Jose Aldo sandwiched in between. Hard to complain! With UFC 315 now in the books, it is time to do some matchmaking.
Jack Della Maddalena
After being the beneficiary of Shavkat Rakhmonov’s injury, the 28-year-old Australian was rebooked from a London main event in March against Leon Edwards, to a title fight in Montréal against Belal Muhammad. Coming in, there were uncertainties about Della Maddalena’s ability to consistently defend takedowns, but he put those to bed. Muhammad, who scored 9 of 13 takedowns against Edwards last July, only went 3 of 9 against JDM.
The biggest story surrounding this fight was the implications it had on the International Fight Week main event in late June. Had Muhammad retained his title, Islam Makhachev would’ve headlined UFC 317 against Ilia Topuria. But should his friend drop the title to JDM, Makhachev would then look to move up to welterweight to attempt double-champ status. With Della Maddalena now taking the belt back to Australia, it would appear the next step is an obvious one. Sure, we have names like Rakhmonov, Sean Brady, Ian Machado Garry and there’s a main event in Atlanta that could all affect the title picture, but as of right now, it’s the current lightweight champion who seems to have the inside track.
Della Maddalena’s next fight: Islam Makhachev
Valentina Shevchenko
With this win, “Bullet” became the first UFC fighter aged 37, male or female, at welterweight or lower, to successfully defend her belt. She was facing a tough opponent who hadn’t lost in the promotion and could match her physical attributes. Yet, she passed this test just like she has done for the better part of a decade. So, what is there next to accomplish for a fighter of Shevchenko’s pedigree? Well, how about a fight with the other most dominant champion of this decade? Zhang Weili is a two-time strawweight champion with four combined defences between her two reigns. She is now looking to move up to flyweight, so a fight with another recognizable champion like Valentina just books itself.
Shevchenko’s next fight: Zhang Weili
Aiemann Zahabi
Controversial scorecards aside, Aiemann Zahabi got his hand raised at UFC 315 and the 37-year-old now pushes his win streak to six. As he inches closer to the top 10 at bantamweight, the French-Canadian won’t be lacking in options.
Deiveson Figueiredo would’ve made a lot of sense, but who knows how long he will be out after his knee injury from last week? Kyler Phillips could be fun, but Phillips hasn’t fought since October, so his timeline probably won’t align with Zahabi’s. Same goes for Marcus McGhee who hasn’t competed since November. Farid Basharat and Vinicius Oliveira are two fighters that probably deserve a ranked opponent, but I doubt Zahabi will be looking to fight backwards. Henry Cejudo and Rob Font are out there, but I much prefer the idea of those two fighting each other. Last week I gave Montel Jackson the loser of the upcoming Vera/Bautista fight, so let’s give Zahabi the winner of that one.
Zahabi’s next fight: Vera/Bautista winner
Natalia Silva
It didn’t get ‘Fight of the Night’ honours like her last outing did, but Natalia Silva just shutout another former champion to extend her UFC win streak to seven. Usually, a body of work like hers would easily warrant a title shot, but unfortunately, I think she will be a victim of the circumstances.
With Zhang Weili alluding to a move to flyweight, a fight between the Chinese champion and Valentina Shevchenko just sells itself. And with that matchup most likely taking place in the fall, Silva can’t afford to sit on the sidelines for that long. When Manon Fiorot fought Erin Blanchfield, they were both deserving of a title shot, but they still fought because it was a better option than sitting out.
I don’t think Fiorot makes too much sense for Silva, and the Brazilian already beat Jasmine Jasudavicius. She could face the winner of the Rose Namajunas vs Miranda Maverick fight, but I’d rather have her face the winner of a main event later this month between Blanchfield and Maycee Barber.
Silva’s next fight: Blanchfield/Barber winner
Benoit Saint Denis
Kyle Prepolec showed off his toughness and pushed Saint Denis to the second round at UFC 315, but this was squash match, and the Frenchman made it look like one. This didn’t really answer any of the questions that spawned after Saint Denis’ last two losses, but it at least puts him back into the win column.
My mind initially went to the now annual Paris card that the UFC books in September, but BSD said he’s ready to get back in there in a couple weeks. Though I doubt he actually ends up fighting in the coming weeks, he might be able to squeeze another fight between now and September. A fighter who was supposed to compete earlier this year but has been sitting around as an unfortunate victim of a wild turn of events is Beneil Dariush. I wouldn’t hate giving Saint Denis another test like Grant Dawson or Nasrat Haqparast before having fight upwards again, but I also do like the Dariush matchup.
Saint Denis’ next fight: Beneil Dariush
