MONTREAL - UFC fans in Montreal had to wait more than a decade for the sport鈥檚 return to the Bell Centre.
Their patience, however, was rewarded with a 4-2 showing by the Canadians on the fight card for UFC 315 on Saturday night.
The card is headlined by welterweight title bout pitting Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena and a women鈥檚 flyweight title matchup between Valentina Shevchenko and Manon Fiorot.
Aiemann Zahabi (13-2) of Laval, Que., shocked UFC Hall of Famer Jose Aldo (32-10) of Brazil in a featherweight main card fight. Zahabi won by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
Zahabi, who had three-time welterweight champion and Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Georges St-Pierre in his corner for the bout, has now won six straight fights.
The fight was originally scheduled to be disputed at the bantamweight category, but was changed to featherweight on Friday after both fighters checked in above the weight limit.
Following the loss, Aldo announced his retirement from MMA fighting after a 21-year career.
(Proper) Mike Malott of Burlington, Ont. (12-2-1), won his fight with American Charles (Chuck Buffalo) Radtke (10-5) by knockout 26 seconds into the second round of their welterweight bout.
Following a hotly-contested opening round, Malott took down Radtke with a clean left hook to the Chicago native鈥檚 head. Malott would not let up, striking his opponent with repeated followup blows to seal the knockout.
Radtke was met with jeers from the moment he walked out. Fans yelled 鈥(Expletive) you, Radtke鈥 throughout the fight in response to comments of the same nature he made to Canadian fans at a pre-fight news conference on Wednesday.
It all stems from the ongoing booing of 鈥淭he Star-Spangled Banner鈥 at Canadian sporting events in recent months over U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state.
In the women鈥檚 flyweight division, Jasmine Jasudavicius (14-3) took down Brazilian Jessia (Bate Estaca) Andrade (26-14) by submission just over halfway through the first round of their fight.
The 36-year-old St. Catharines, Ont., native secured her fifth consecutive win, toppling Andrade to the ground before pinning her opponent down in a rear-naked chokehold.
鈥淲hen I was preparing for this fight, I kept on thinking about it being a quick finish,鈥 said Jasudavicius. 鈥淚 kept on telling myself to be ready for 15 hard minutes and everything.
“I was trying to convince myself otherwise and once I got that hand kind of behind her shoulder there, I was like, 鈥榯his is the end. I鈥檓 going to get this. This is nuts.鈥欌
Jasudavicius improved her record in Canada to a perfect 5-0, which she says is no fluke.
鈥淚 feel like I feed off the crowd. As soon as I step out, I feel the energy and I feel like I truly bring everyone in there with and that I actually have Canada on my back. It gives me so much more strength,鈥 said Jasudavicius.
Marc-Andre (Powerbar) Barriault (17-9) of Gatineau, Que., also knocked out 35-year-old Brazilian opponent Bruno (Blindado) Silva (23-13) 1:27 into the opening round of their middleweight bout, thanks to an elbow struck to the side of Silva鈥檚 head. Silva left the octagon on a stretcher.
鈥淚 still have goosebumps,鈥 said Barriault. 鈥淚 feel like I realized that he was still on the ground after a couple minutes, and then I felt like maybe there鈥檚 something wrong.
“Everything else was kind of incredible. The energy of the crowd, just to see myself on the big screen and see my name everywhere, I deserve to be here.鈥
Barriault鈥檚 knockout was celebrated with raucous applause and a series of “Ol茅, Ol茅, Ol茅” chants from crowd. The reception from the Bell Centre faithful left Barriault in tears.
鈥淚鈥檓 an emotional guy to start with,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was a relief and it all came out. I still have a lump in my throat. It鈥檚 something that is going to stay with me for a long time. These are intense emotions that I just created. It was a special moment for me, one that I deserve. I am really happy.鈥
It wasn鈥檛 entirely a success for the Canadian contingent of fighters in Montreal.
Benoit (God of War) Saint Denis (14-3) defeated Windsor, Ont.鈥檚 Kyle (Killshot) 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 he would be fighting in Montreal. The 35-year-old was called to replace Spaniard Joel Alvarez, who has a hand injury.
Kazakh Bekzat (The Turan Warrior) Almakhan (12-2) made quick work of Winnipeg鈥檚 Brad (Superman) Katona (16-5), knocking out the 33-year-old with a perfectly landed uppercut just over one minute into the first round of the opening preliminary bout.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2025.
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