In major news for the UFC’s welterweight division, current champion Belal Muhammad will attempt to defend the belt against Jack Della Maddalena in the main event of UFC 315 in Montreal, Conada on May 10th.
This was a completely unexpected announcement as Muhammad had been expected to fight the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov after their originally scheduled showdown at UFC 310 in December was postponed after Rakhmonov suffered a bone infection in his foot.
However, it’s now emerged that due to injury Rakhmonov won’t be able to compete by May, and so the UFC has opted for an alternative option instead.
“Big thanks to the UFC for offering me the shot at the belt first. Unfortunately, due to injury, I won’t be ready for May,” Rakhmonov wrote on social media. “I’ll be facing the winner later this year!”
Rakhmonov’s loss is the 28-year-old Maddalena’s gain, and he had been right on the verge of title contention anyway after a seven-fight winning streak since joining the UFC in 2021 took him to No.4 in the rankings.
Maddalena has made his impression felt along the way, picking up four ‘Performance Of The Night’ bonuses and a ‘Fight Of The Night’ too, with his latest victories seeing him beat Kevin Holland by split decision followed by a 3rd round KO victory over former title contender Gilbert Burns last September.
Maddalena had been scheduled to fight former champion Leon Edwards next in the main event of UFC Fight Night 255 in London, England on March 22nd, but he’ll now have almost two months more to prepare for a title shot instead, while the UFC will have to find a new opponent for ‘Rocky’ to lead the UK show.
Meanwhile, the 36-year-old champion Muhammad will be seeking to make the first defense of the title he claimed from the aforementioned Edwards by unanimous decision at UFC 304 in Manchester, England in July of last year.
That extended Muhammad’s current unbeaten streak in the weight class to 11 fights, having also beaten the likes of Stephen Thompson, Demian Maia, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady and Gilbert Burns along the way.
Muhammad vs. Maddalena fronts a UFC 315 card that also sees flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko taking on the in-form Manon Fiorot in the co-main event.
