Monday Matchmaker: Is it finally time for champ vs. champ after UFC 315?

A new champion was crowned for the second consecutive welterweight title fight, as Jack Della Maddalena wrapped up UFC 315 by ascending to the throne on the strength of a unanimous decision win over Belal Muhammad over the weekend in Montreal.

The Dana White’s Contender Series graduate was sharp from the jump and carried that throughout the contest, doing well to mix his strikes and targets, defend takedowns, and cause greater visible damage than Muhammad throughout the hard-fought 25-minute main event.

While the man who entered with the belt around his waist had positive moments of his own throughout, Della Maddalena was able to keep the fight standing for the most part, and that type of contest was always going to work in his favour.

Last week, Arden Zwelling outlined the different lines that existed on the divisional flowchart heading into the clash between Muhammad and Della Maddalena, detailing the various possible outcomes and where those roads may lead once the smoke cleared from the first Montreal card in 10 years.

As we look out to the welterweight horizon, all signs point to the new champion’s first challenger being lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev, who has a relationship with Muhammad and wanted to see the outcome of Saturday’s bout before deciding on his next fight.

If UFC 315 ended with “And Still,” Makhachev would have defended his lightweight strap next, but with Della Maddalena ascending to the throne, all indications are that the standout from Dagestan will move up and attempt to become the 10th individual to hold UFC gold in two weight classes and the fifth to simultaneously sit atop two divisions.

It’s a fascinating matchup and the Australian champion’s performance over the weekend against Muhammad adds further intrigue to the future proceedings, as he showed a tremendous ability to dictate the terms of engagement, do damage in multiple ranges and with different weapons, and had the gas tank to push hard for five rounds.

You will not hear me complain about seeing elite talents like Della Maddalena and Makhachev sharing the cage together… however, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that bringing the lightweight champ to challenge for the title presses pause on the active and crowded title chase that has been ongoing in the division and has heated up further this year.

Shavkat Rakhmonov was supposed to fight for the title in December, then missed out on that opportunity here as a result of an injury. Sean Brady trucked Leon Edwards in March to extend his winning streak to three, and Ian Machado Garry got things moving in the right direction again with a quality win over Carlos Prates last month in Kansas City. All three will now have to wait and make alternate fight arrangements with Makhachev likely moving up and jumping the line to face the new champion.

ESK suggests: Let’s do Della versus Islam, Shavkat versus Brady to determine the No. 1 contender, and have Machado Garry face the winner of the upcoming bout between Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley. Regardless of how things get booked and eventually shake out, the division is in a great place right now and we should get a ton of great fights in the second half of 2025.

SUPERFIGHT FOR SHEVCHENKO?

Della Maddalena isn’t the only champion leaving Montreal with another titleholder eager to move up a division and face them.

Valentina Shevchenko successfully defended her flyweight title in the co-main event, edging out game French challenger Manon Fiorot in a competitive, entertaining five-round affair. It was the first defence of Shevchenko’s second reign and the eighth time she’s defended the belt overall, leaving her in a “pick your own adventure” position as we head toward the summer.

Strawweight champ Zhang Weili congratulated Shevchenko on her win and declared that a matchup between the two was “destiny,” and it feels difficult to argue with her at the moment. Both women are in their second reigns atop their respective divisions and have defended their titles against two different eras of contenders, cementing their places on the short list of the best female fighters in UFC history and two of the best of their generation, period.

A bout between Zhang and Shevchenko is one of the bigger matchups the UFC could make right now, but squaring off with the strawweight champ isn’t the only option “Bullet” has, which makes things interesting.

Natalia Silva pushed her record to 7-0 in the UFC with a clean sweep of the scorecards opposite former champ Alexa Grasso earlier on the main card, running her winning streak to 13 overall in the process. She’s gone back-to-back against Grasso and Jessica Andrade, and beat streaking Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius in her promotional debut, leaving her with nothing else to prove at this point.

Later this month, Erin Blanchfield and Maycee Barber are slated to go head-to-head in a headlining bout at the UFC APEX, and the winner of that one could certainly argue they’ve done enough to merit a championship opportunity as well.

Blanchfield rebounded from her loss to Fiorot last March with a gritty win over Rose Namajunas in Edmonton back in November, and besting Barber would move her to 8-1 inside the Octagon, with five wins over fellow contenders currently ranked in the top 15. A win for Barber would extend her streak to seven and her record to 10-2 in the UFC, with five top-15 wins and a stoppage victory over ranked Canadian strawweight Gillian Robertson mixed in for good measure.

ESK suggests: Virna Jandiroba has done enough to merit a championship opportunity at strawweight and shouldn’t be forced to wait (or keep fighting) again, so have Zhang face her in August or September, with Shevchenko defending against Silva, with the Blanchfield-Barber winner becoming the next No. 1 contender.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE VICTORIOUS CANADIANS?

Four Canadians earned wins in Montreal and you could argue that each put themselves in a position to earn big opportunities whenever they make the walk next.

Marc-Andre Barriault was the first Canuck to collect a win, stopping Bruno Silva with a hellacious elbow along the fence early in the first round of their middleweight tussle. He revealed after the contest that it was the final fight of his contract, so he needs to re-sign to continue plying his trade inside the Octagon.

ESK suggests: Should that happen — and I think it should and will — Barriault profiles as the perfect dance partner for a young, emerging talent like Christian Leroy Duncan, who earned a good win in London in March, but still has to prove he can get by an experienced hand before the hype that surrounded him upon arriving in the UFC can ramp up once more.

Jasudavicius was the next Canadian to collect a victory, pushing her winning streak to five with a first-round submission win over Andrade. She’s already earned two wins this year, looks more comfortable and confident each time she fights, and merits another step up in competition after running through the Brazilian veteran on the weekend.

ESK suggests: With Noche UFC headed to Guadalajara in September, a date with Grasso on the main card feels like the precise type of matchup each fighter needs at this moment in time. The former champ has dropped two straight and is without a win over her last three, while Jasudavicius should be afforded a chance to keep moving forward, and a date with Grasso would fit the bill.

Mike Malott followed his teammate Jasudavicius into the Octagon and then followed her to the win column as well, collecting a second-round knockout over Charles Radtke. After taking a more tactical approach to things in November in Edmonton, Malott was both patient and punishing on Saturday, landing the better shots throughout and executing his “matador versus bull” approach to a tee.

ESK suggests: I hate that my brain automatically went here when thinking about what could come next for the 33-year-old Waterdown, Ont., native, but the Canada-USA rivalry is too deep, too great to not think a matchup between Malott and Colby Covington either as the main event of whatever Fight Night show comes north of the border later this year or tacked onto some big pay-per-view main card would be perfect.

If “Chaos” isn’t interested — and something tells me he won’t be — pairing Malott off with another tenured top 15 resident like Stephen Thompson or Michael “Venom” Page could be fun.

The final Canadian to compete and earn a win was hometown bantamweight Aiemann Zahabi, who earned a unanimous decision victory over Jose Aldo in a bout where he not only showed his skills, but his heart and grit as well. The 37-year-old has now won six straight and will take another step forward in the rankings when they update on Tuesday, potentially moving as high as No. 10.

ESK suggests: Zahabi was wise to have a name in mind for his post-fight interview, calling out Marlon “Chito” Vera, who currently resides at No. 7 in the bantamweight rankings. The former title challenger and popular veteran has a fight lined up against Mario Bautista at UFC 316 next month in Newark, N.J., and pairing Zahabi off with the winner of that one makes a great deal of sense.

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