The UFC returns to Montreal, Canada for a huge fight card at UFC 315 that will see Belal Muhammad defend his welterweight championship for the first time against contender Jack Della Maddalena in the main event.
The duo will be supported by another title fight in the co-main event as women's flyweights go head-to-head as Valentina Shevchenko defends her crown against Manon Fiorot, while the likes of Jose Aldo, Alexa Grasso and Jessica Andrade are also on the undercard.
We'll take a look at the main event fight on the card and provide you with our best free UFC betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash while taking in the action in the octagon.
Learn more about how to bet on the UFC here.
UFC 315 information
- Saturday, May 10th 2025
- Bell Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Undisputed Welterweight Championship (170lbs limit)
- 5 x 5 minute rounds
- Main card start time 22:00 ET
Belal Muhammad v Jack Della Maddalena
Muhammad is on an 11 fight unbeaten streak currently, taking his professional record in MMA to 24-3-1 with five knockouts and one submission to his name following his successful title win last time out.
The Palestinian fighter controlled legendary grappler Demian Maia on the ground using his impressive wrestling before dominating dangerous striker Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson to another decision win. That set up a rematch with Vicente Luque, who had previously KO'd him in the past, who he controlled five rounds for another dominant victory.
Next came a difficult fight against the then-undefeated Sean Brady, but "Remember the name" showed his improved boxing skills to earn a knockout victory and earn a performance of the night bonus. He then took on former title challenger Gilbert Burns in a title eliminator bout and earned another dominant decision win.
That earned Muhammad the chance to run it back with Leon Edwards - their previous encounter ended in a no-contest following a second-round eye poke - in England for the championship. He earned a dominant win on the scorecards once more, cementing himself as the number one welterweight in the world.
Della Maddalena on the other hand comes into this fight on a 17-fight win streak, with a professional record of 17-2 including 12 knockouts and three submissions in his career.
The Australian lit up the UFC with three first-round knockouts in his first three appearances with the organisation, stopping Pete Rodriguez, Ramazan Emeev and Danny Roberts. That set up a fight with highly-rated Randy Brown, where he claimed yet another first-round stoppage as he submitted the Jamaican with a rear-naked choke.
A short-notice fight against Bassil Haffez saw him earn a split-decision victory despite a relatively dominant display, before another split decision win against fan-favorite Kevin Holland in his next bout. Next up was a fight with Gilbert Burns, and he was on the verge of defeat before a sensational comeback in the third-round saw him claim a late stoppage win.
Della Maddalena was set to face off with Leon Edwards at UFC London back in March, but the fight was postponed and he was given the title opportunity instead when Shavkat Rakhmonov was ruled out through injury.
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Route to victory
This fight is a classic grappler vs striker match up, and both fighters will want to keep the bout in their realm of expertise for the best chance of victory.
Muhammad is a dominant wrestler who uses his suffocating style and cardio to overwhelm his opponents, and his training with Khabib Nurmagomedov's camp in Dagestan in recent years has taken that up a level.
Della Maddalena on the other hand is one of the best pure boxers in the UFC and he has got sensational power in his hands too, while he has shown his ability on the ground in order to survive and keep fights in his wheelhouse.
There is an argument for both fighters that this will be their toughest stylistic match up, but it seems to ring more true for the challenger than the champion. Muhammad has dominated specialist strikers like 'Wonderboy' Thompson and Edwards, while also dominating specialist grapplers like Maia, Brady and Burns throughout his run.
Maddalena has largely come up against strikers in his career and got the better of them, and barring Burns running out of gas and eating a flush knee to the face with a minute to go, he'd arguably have lost that fight.
That tells you that Muhammad must get the fight to the floor so he can have his way, while the Australian must keep it standing at all costs and get the champion exchanging strikes with him to catch him with a combination of some sort to bring it to an early end.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
UFC Picks: Muhammad to retain @ -200
No fight is easy at this level in the UFC, but this does seem to be a routine victory for the champion if he continues to do what he does best and what got him to the dance in the first place.
His offensive wrestling is excellent and his cardio is probably the best in the division, meaning he can force the challenger backwards against the cage and make it even easier to get a takedown. If he doesn't fight with his ego, then it's difficult to see how he loses this.
With that said, Della Maddlena has got other-worldly power in his hands and he has the ability to land flush and bring this to a close at any point.
But with no experience of a five-round fight, plus the stylistic issues, taking Belal Muhammad to retain the belt at -200 feels a bit like printing money. For added value, take Muhammad by decision at +100.
Check out our review for Bovada sports betting here.
