Jack Della Maddalena is the new UFC middleweight champion.
In an epic five-round battle, JDM dethroned Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC 315 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
JDM’s striking, toughness and takedown defense were the difference. Here is a look at the official scorecards.
Going into the fifth round, many believed JDM had the edge on the scorecards. Even the new champion’s corner told him he was winning. They were wrong, and had he tried to take his foot off the games and gave up the final frame, he would have lost.
Muhammad had the edge early in the fifth round securing a takedown a little short of midway through the final round. JDM could have simply tried to hold on, but he didn’t. He exploded to get to his feet and dominated the striking for the entire second half of the final round.
Both men had tons of physical damage on their face. It was truly a war and a fight worthy of headlining a pay-per-view event. Fittingly, it won Fight of the Night adding $50,000 to both guys paydays for the event.
With JDM dethroning Muhammad, the path is clear for reigning UFC lightweight champion and pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter Islam Makhachev to move up to welterweight to challenge for the title at 170 pounds. Makhachev seemed to confirm his intentions on social media.
Had Muhammad successfully defended his title, Makhachev wouldn’t have wanted to move up to challenge him as they are now training partners.
This result now also opens the door for Ilia Topuria to move up to lightweight and to fight Charles Oliveira for the interim title at 155 pounds. We’re waiting on the official word, but it appears this is what could happen.
Here are the bonus winners, results and highlights of every finish from the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday.
UFC 315 Performance Bonuses
UFC 315 Results
- Jack Della Maddalena def. (c) Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision (48-47×2, 49-46)
- (c) Valentina Shevchenko def. Manon Fiorot via unanimous decision (48-47×3) – Shevchenko retains the UFC women’s flyweight championship
- Aiemann Zahabi def. Jose Aldo via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
- Natalia Silva def. Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
- Benoit Saint Denis def. Kyle Prepolec via second-round submission
Prepolec was in an uphill battle in this one. He took the fight on short notice and he was matched against a talented fighter hungry to turn things around after back-to-back losses. BSD did what was expected of him.
- Mike Malott def. Charles Radtke via second-round TKO
Malott kept the momentum rolling for the Canadian fighters as he destroyed Radtke with a nasty combination that led to some destructive ground and pound punches.
- Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Jessica Andrade via first-round submission
Jasudavicius sent the Bell Centre crowd into a frenzy with her dominant submission win over the former UFC women’s strawweight champion. Andrade looked massively overmatched and Jasudavicius looks on the cusp of a title opportunity at flyweight.
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Ion Cutelaba via split decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28)
- Navajo Stirling def. Ivan Erslan via unanimous decision (29-28×2 29-27)
- Marc-André Barriault def. Bruno Silva via first-round KO
This finish was absolutely brutal. A series of elbows to the jaw left Silva unconscious. When you consider Silva is now on a four-fight losing streak and he missed weight, this could be his last fight in the UFC.
Unfortunately, Silva was stretchered out of the Octagon following this finish. Thankfully, there was a positive update on Silva about an hour or so after the match.
- Daniel Santos def. Jeong Yeong Lee via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
- Bekzat Almakhan def. Brad Katona via first-round KO