Jack Della Maddalena beat Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision to wrest away the welterweight championship in the main event at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 315 on Saturday night.
Della Maddalena (18-2-0) extended his fight win streak to 18 with a 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 decision.
The loss ended Muhammad’s 11-fight streak dating to January 2019.
Photo: Eric Bolte / Imagn Images
“He brings the pressure, you know, I knew I had to be smart,” the Australian said.
In the co-main event, two-time UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko (25-4-1) defended her belt against No. 2 contender Manon Fiorot (12-2) of France.
All three judges scored it 48-47.
“I was expecting a hard fight, she’s a good fighter,” the 37-year-old from Kyrgyzstan said.
“I’m going to keep going. Numbers is nothing. What is more important is how you feel physically, mentally, how you perform,” she said.
Aiemann Zahabi shocked UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo in a featherweight main card fight, after which Aldo announced his retirement.
Zahabi (13-2) won by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) and the Canadian has now won six straight fights.
The fight was originally scheduled to be disputed at the bantamweight division, but was changed to featherweight on Friday after both fighters checked in above the weight limit.
Aldo (32-10), of Brazil, announced his retirement from mixed martial arts fighting after a 21-year career.
“I don’t think I have it in me anymore,” Aldo said through a translator.
Saturday’s card was the first in Canada since US President Donald Trump’s election victory in November last year. It comes amid growing political tensions between Canada and the US, as Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada should become the 51st US state, and some of that tension spilt over.
Canadian Mike Malott (12-2-1) won his fight with American Charles Radtke (10-5) by knockout 26 seconds into the second round of their welterweight bout. Malott took down Radtke with a clean left hook and would not let up, striking his opponent with repeated follow-up blows to seal the knockout.
Radtke was met with jeers and curses from fans throughout the fight in response to comments he made to Canadian fans at a pre-fight news conference on Wednesday and the booing of The Star-Spangled Banner at Canadian sporting events in recent months.
“When you all boo the national anthem, somebody’s gonna have to pay for that,” Radtke said.
In the women’s flyweight division, Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius (14-3) took down Brazilian Jessia Andrade (26-14) by submission halfway through the first round.
“When I was preparing for this fight, I kept on thinking about it being a quick finish,” Jasudavicius said. “I kept on telling myself to be ready for 15 hard minutes and everything.”
Marc-Andre Barriault (17-9) also knocked out opponent Bruno Silva (23-13) 1:27 into the opening round of their middleweight bout with an elbow strike to the side of Silva’s head. Silva left the octagon on a stretcher.
Benoit Saint Denis (14-3) beat Kyle Prepolec (12-8) by submission in the opening main card fight. The Frenchman took down the Canadian with an arm-triangle choke midway through the second round.
Prepolec only found out less than two weeks ago that he would be fighting in Montreal. The 35-year-old was called in to replace Joel Alvarez, who has a hand injury.
The pressure was already on Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso before their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League raised further questions about his future. Arsenal remain perfect in this season’s competition and three points clear at the top of the standings after a 3-0 win against Club Brugge, while defending champions Paris Saint-Germain were held 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The clash between Madrid and City was the standout game of the round amid reports this week that Alonso had lost control of the locker room. Speculation over his position is likely to intensify after the latest
‘HIGH STANDARD’: The Thunder are on track for a Finals-Cup double after they scored 22 three-pointers in equaling the best 25-game start to a season in NBA history The Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday bagged a 16th straight victory, thrashing the Phoenix Suns 138-89 to romp into an NBA Cup semi-final clash with the San Antonio Spurs, who stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 132-119. NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 28 points to lead the reigning NBA champions Thunder, who improved to 24-1 to equal the best 25-game start to a season in league history. They dominated from start to finish to book their place in the final four of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, where they are tomorrow to take on the Spurs. The New York Knicks and
The Kashima Antlers won a record-extending ninth Japanese title on the final day of the J. League season yesterday, holding their nerve to beat the Yokohama F. Marinos 2-1. Watched by Brazilian legend and former player Zico, the Antlers went into the game at their packed home stadium with a one-point lead over Kashiwa Reysol in the table. A goal in either half from Brazilian striker Leo Ceara put the Antlers in control, but Yokohama struck in the first of five minutes of second-half injury time to set up a nail-biting finale, with Reysol winning their game 1-0. The Antlers saw out the
Tony Jefferson intercepted a Jalen Hurts pass in overtime to give the Los Angeles Chargers a 22-19 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday in an NFL thriller between playoff contenders. Justin Herbert, playing a week after surgery on his broken left (non-throwing) hand, withstood a career-high seven sacks to throw for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Chargers. Cameron Dicker kicked five field goals, including the 54-yard game winner in overtime. The Chargers defenders forced Hurts to throw four interceptions and surrender a fumble for a career-worst five turnovers as the Eagles fell to 8-5 with a third
RSS