UFC 315 saw a major upset.
Though Jack Della Maddalena walked in on a 17-fight winning streak, Belal Muhammad was still heavily favored in the welterweight championship match. But Maddalena proved that he was the real deal.
Maddalena was relentless in his striking, and his defense game blocked most takedowns from the former 170-pound champion. The bout wasn’t completely one-sided as Muhammad connected and proved why he got a lopsided win over Leon Edwards for win the welterweight title. However, despite a war between these two, there was no question who the winner was before Maddalena’s name was announced, and it put a quick end to Muhammad’s UFC title run.
Valentina Shevchenko fared better in the co-main event as the Women’s Flyweight Champion, though it certainly wasn’t an easy fight. Fiorot gave Shevchenko a run for her money throughout the five-round bout, but the reigning UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion did more damage that helped her secure the unanimous decision win.
In other huge news, former UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo retired at UFC 315. Originally, many people had Aldo pegged as the winner over Aiemann Zahabi, but the overall bout was an extremely close one between the two featherweights. Jose Aldo wasn’t exactly firm with his retirement, but he did say in his post-match interview that he just didn’t have the heart to do it anymore.
“Thank you to Dana [White], to Sean [Shelby], to Lorenzo Fertitta, for everybody in the UFC for everything they’ve given me,” Aldo said. “I don’t think I have it in me anymore. This was a tough week. It just wasn’t about cutting the weight and everything else. I just felt there were so many things that happened. It was very tough to go through all this.
“There was one point this week, it was a very tough week, that I felt I didn’t have it in me. I didn’t want to cut anymore. My body said no and I just don’t think I have it anymore. I don’t want to go into war all the time and go through this. I just don’t have it in my heart anymore. I think this is the last time you’re going to see me. I can’t do this anymore”
Jose Aldo is one of the greatest fighters of our generation. Should this legitimately be his final fight then he walks out win a record of 32 wins and 10 losses.
Check out the full results of UFC 315 below:
Main Card
Welterweight championship: Jack Della Maddalena def. Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
Women's flyweight championship: Valentina Shevchenko def. Manon Fiorot via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Featherweight: Aiemann Zahabi def. Jose Aldo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Women's flyweight: Natalia Silva def. Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Lightweight: Benoit Saint Denis def. Kyle Prepolec via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:35 of R2
Prelims
Welterweight: Mike Malott def. Charles Radtke via TKO (punches) at :26 of R2
Women's flyweight: Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Jessica Andrade via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:40 of R1
Light heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas def. Ion Cutelaba via split decision (27-30, 30-27, 29-28)
Light heavyweight: Navajo Stirling def. Ivan Erslan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
Early prelims
187-pound catchweight: Marc-Andre Barriault def. Bruno Silva via KO (elbows) at 1:27 of R1
Featherweight: Daniel Gustavo Santos def. Jeong Yeong Lee via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Bantamweight: Bekzat Almakhan def. Brad Katona via TKO (punches) at 1:04 of R1