What’s at stake for the Canadians fighting at UFC 315 in Montreal?

As the UFC makes its return north of the border for the first time this year, it’ll provide a handful of fighters a unique shot at redemption.

UFC 315 presented by Skilled Trades College is set for Saturday in Montreal — the promotion’s eighth visit to la belle province and first since 2015 — and there will be six Canadians competing when action gets underway.

Some of whom will be hoping for a better outcome than the last time they fought on home soil. Going back to last January for the preceding pay-per-view card in Canada (UFC 297 in Toronto), eight fighters represented the red-and-white, but only two saw their hand raised in victory at the end of their bouts.

Fast forward to UFC 315, and four of the Canadians who’ll step into the cage Saturday also competed that night. The stakes will undoubtedly be high, but so will the energy. Will the home crowd advantage provide a much-needed boost this time around, or will the pressure prove too much yet again?

With that being said, here’s what you need to know about each Canadian fighter heading into UFC 315.

Aiemann Zahabi (12-2-0)

The Laval, Que. native enters his matchup against unretired UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo as one of the more in-form fighters in the bantamweight division.

After the winning momentum from his promotional debut in 2017 was stymied by back-to-back losses, Zahabi has since turned things around and rattled off five consecutive victories. Tied for the fifth-longest active streak amongst 135-pound fighters.

The 37-year-old hasn’t lost in over five years and picked up a pair of wins in 2024 to move into the bantamweight ranking (No. 14) for the first time in his career. Zahabi’s most recent victory came on November’s UFC Fight Night card in Edmonton, where he picked up a unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz.

And he’ll undoubtedly need the backing of the home crowd as he embarks on arguably his toughest challenge yet, taking on No. 11-ranked Aldo, who’s shown he’s still got plenty of fight left.

“Junior” made an emphatic return to the promotion in 2024, brushing off a two-year hiatus by picking up a unanimous decision win against Jonathan Martinez at UFC 301 in his native Brazil. The 38-year-old did, however, follow that up with a narrow split-decision loss to Mario Bautista (No. 10) at UFC 307 in October.

Now it’s Zahabi’s unenviable task to try to make it back-to-back losses for Aldo, something the former featherweight champ hasn’t experienced since he lost three straight between 2019-20. What the Canadian does have going for him is that if anyone is equipped to handle the tactical precision of Aldo’s striking, it’s Zahabi. His 71.2 per cent significant strike defence rate ranks second amongst active bantamweights.

It’s also worth noting that he’ll be fighting on one of the biggest stages of his career. Not only fighting on home soil, but doing it as part of a main card for only the second time in the UFC, on just his second pay-per-view appearance. A stark contrast to Aldo, a veteran of the fight game who’s been there and done that in plenty of iconic venues.

If Zahabi can overcome the odds and take down the legend in front of the bright lights, expect another jump up the 135-pound leaderboard. He’ll also have his pal Georges St-Pierre in his corner.

Kyle “Killshot” Prepolec (18-8-0)

When it comes to facing pressure this weekend, the Windsor, Ont., native is essentially playing with house money.

Prepolec was announced as Joel Alvarez’s replacement for UFC 315 on Monday, as the Spaniard had to withdraw due to a hand injury. Now it’ll be the 35-year-old joining Zahabi as the only Canadians competing on the main card, as he’ll take on No. 13-ranked lightweight Benoit Saint Denis.

Prepolec will likely be hoping the familiarity of fighting in Canada will help him get past the somewhat unknown confines of the UFC. “Killshot” hasn’t competed under the banner in over five years, going back to 2019 when he picked up back-to-back losses in his only appearances for the promotion. Since then, however, Prepolec has found success elsewhere, riding a three-fight win streak heading into Montreal. His most recent victory came via first-round KO at BTC 24 in Burlington, Ont.

And while Prepolec enters Saturday as a heavy underdog, it would behoove Saint Denis not to look past the Canadian, given his recent struggles. The “God of War” is on a two-fight UFC losing streak, and his once sterling 5-1 start under the banner is no more. Saint Denis was knocked out by Dustin Poirier in the co-main of UFC 299, and then forced to bow out and take a loss in his Fight Night contest against Renato Moicano last September due to an eye injury.

So, despite the short-notice nature of the fight and built-in excuse should he lose, Prepolec has a real opportunity to shake up the trajectory of his MMA career if he can he can knock off the ranked, albeit-slumping, Frenchman.

Mike “Proper” Malott (11-2-1)

UFC 315 will be the Waterdown, Ont., native’s fourth consecutive time competing for the promotion on home soil. At UFC 297 in Toronto, the Canadian lost to Neil Magny in the third round of their main card bout after a ground-and-pound beating forced a finish. It was Malott’s first and only UFC defeat to this point. “Proper” did get back in the win column after UFC 297, picking up a unanimous decision win over Trevin Giles at UFC Edmonton in November.

Malott is set to take on fellow welterweight Charles Radtke in the featured prelim. This will be the fourth different province Malott has fought in over his past four outings. A second straight win in front of a favourable crowd could be the spark Malott needs to reignite the early momentum he had gained with three consecutive stoppage victories to begin his UFC career.

Jasmine Jasudavicius (13-3-0)

The St. Catherines, Ont. native is not only one of the best Canadians currently competing in the UFC, but she is also quickly rising the women’s flyweight ranks.

Jasudavicius holds the No. 9 spot on the 125-pound leaderboard after racking up four consecutive wins. She is a specialist on the canvas, known for exhausting her opponents, and among active 125-pounders she ranks first in the division in control time percentage (44.7), and top position percentage (41.9).

The Niagara Top Team fighter is now 7-2 since her UFC debut in 2022 with notable victories over multiple ranked opponents such as Ariane da Silva (No. 14) and Miranda Maverick (No. 12).

Entertaining whenever she steps in the cage — earning two performance of the night bonuses through her nine UFC appearances, both for D’Arce Choke finishes — the 36-year-old is starting to put the rest of the division on notice. Her most recent victory was arguably her most impressive, dispatching one-time women’s bantamweight title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision.

Just three months later, Jasudavicius is set for another test to see if she can truly compete with the best of the 125-pound club, as she’ll take on hardened veteran Jessica Andrade (No. 7). The former strawweight champ and a past flyweight title challenger is looking to regain her form after losing four of her last six fights, heading into Saturday’s card on the heels of a unanimous decision loss to Natalia Silva in September.

And when the Brazilian steps into the Octagon in Montreal, she’ll undoubtedly have to overcome Jasudavicius’ built-in advantage as the Canadian has yet to lose on home soil.

She won at UFC 289 in Vancouver, was one of just two Canadians to come out victorious at UFC 297 in Toronto — the first of her three wins in 2024 — and picked up a Fight Night victory in Edmonton last November.

Marc-Andre Barriault (16-9-0) and Brad Katona (14-4-0)

A pair of UFC veterans, both are looking to get back to winning ways on the prelims.

Katona will open the festivities in Montreal with his bantamweight bout against Bekzat Almakhan. The 33-year-old out of Winnipeg is now far removed from his Ultimate Fighter season 27 finale win that kick-started his UFC career in 2018. He’s 4-4 under the banner now, having lost two of his last three bouts. Katona started 2024 with a unanimous decision loss at UFC 297 on home soil, followed that up with a win against Jesse Butler on a Fight Night in June, but was then defeated by Jean Matsumoto in his most recent bout last October.

Taking down “The Turan Warrior,” who’s one and only fight in the UFC was against current No. 3-ranked bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov, could be just what Katona needs to string together some success.

Meanwhile, Barriault’s been in a much bigger rut as he’s in the midst of a three-fight losing streak, all of which started with his split decision defeat to Chris Curtis at UFC 297 in Toronto. Things only got worse from there, as he was knocked out by Joe Pyfer in less than two minutes at UFC 303 and followed that up with another first-round loss in November. The 35-year-old’s most recent victory was nearly two years ago at UFC 289 in Vancouver, a unanimous decision win over Eryk Anders.

He’ll be helped by the fact that his opponent at UFC 315 will be a similarly struggling Bruno Silva. The Brazilian, once 3-0 under the banner, has lost six of seven and is in the midst of a four-fight losing streak.

Barriault will have to hope he can take advantage of another slumping middleweight in order to snap his own skid. And while getting back in the win column at any point would definitely be a treat for the Gatineau, Que., native, it’d taste even sweeter if he manages to do it on Saturday, knowing he’ll get to celebrate with family and friends after seeing his hand raised in his home province.

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