5 Fights We Need to See After UFC 315
Jack Della Maddalena is the new UFC welterweight champion, but his work has only just begun.
Australia's Della Maddalena won the welterweight belt in the main event of Saturday's UFC 315 card in Montreal, defeating champion Belal Muhammad by decision in an early Fight of the Year contender. It was a performance that will stand the test of time, but the new champ will soon have to shift his focus to one of multiple possible challengers — including lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. The big question is which of those fighters will actually get the opportunity.
There are also numerous options on the table for women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko after UFC 315. The living MMA legend was back in action in the card's co-headliner, scoring the first defense her second title reign with a decision defeat of streaking Frenchwoman Manon Fiorot. There are a number of fighters who could provide her next challenge, it's just a question of who the UFC matchmakers pick.
Outside of UFC 315's top two fights, it's arguable no fighter on the bill made a bigger splash than Brazil's Natalia Silva, who asserted herself as one of the chief contenders for Shevchenko's belt with a decision defeat of former champ Alexa Grasso.
French lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis also got a sorely needed win in Montreal, rolling over late replacement Kyle Prepolec inside a round to bounce back from two-straight losses. So to did Canadian welterweight Mike Malott. After a second-round TKO of Charles Radtke in the final bout of the undercard, he is once again looking like one of the brightest young talents in his division.
Keep scrolling for the fights we'd like to see next for Della Maddalena and Shevchenko, as well our picks for Silva, Saint-Denis and Malott's next matchups.
Jack Della Maddalena vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov
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Islam Makhachev was one of the most talked about fighters leading into UFC 315, and he wasn't even in action on the card.
Makhachev is the UFC's lightweight champion, and top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter. He has long been eyeing the welterweight title, but made it clear he would not challenge his friend and occasional training partner Belal Muhammad for the belt. Now that Della Maddalena is the champion, the Russian is clear to pursue his goal of becoming a two-division champion without issue.
There's no question it's an opportunity Makhachev deserves, but let's just hold our horses. The Russian still has some worthy challenges in the lightweight division, namely former featherweight champ Ilia Topuria. As big as a fight between Della Maddalena and Makhachev would be, a fight between Makhachev and Topuria would be even bigger. Hopefully, the UFC sees it that way too.
That will also allow things to clear up in the jam-packed welterweight division. There are multiple fighters in the weight class who deserve a title shot right now, notably Shavkat Rakhmonov and Sean Brady. Ian Machado Garry is also in position for the opportunity, and the winner of an upcoming fight between Kamaru Usman and Joaquin Buckley will be too.
Any of those fighters could fairly get the first crack at Della Maddalena, but let's give the opportunity to Rakhmonov. The undefeated Kazakh juggernaut was supposed to get the shot last year, but was passed up for Della Maddalena when he suffered an injury.
Assuming Rakhmonov is healthy enough to fight by the fall, this is the fight to make. If not, Brady should be next.
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Zhang Weili
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At 37 years old, Valentina Shevchenko is clearly nearing the end of her illustrious career. However, the Kyrgyzstani striker's UFC 315 win over Fiorot proved she is still No. 1 in her weight class.
From here, the most deserving contender for a shot at Shevchenko's belt is clearly Brazil's Natalia Silva, who defeated Alexa Grasso on Saturday's main card. However, we're going to propose another idea: a super fight between Shevchenko and strawweight champ Zhang Weili.
Like Shevchenko, Zhang still has some tough challenges in her weight class — namely Virna Jandiroba at the moment. However, there has long been talk of a super-fight between the strawweight champion and Shevchenko. Assuming Shevchenko is really nearing the end of her career, it seems like the right move to book this fight before it's too late. We don't want it going the way of Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva.
It's a very competitive matchup on paper, and the winner would undoubtedly be the top pound-for-pound woman competing in MMA right now.
Natalia Silva vs. Blanchfield-Barber Winner
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As we covered above, Natalia Silva is now the top contender for a crack at Valentina Shevchenko's flyweight belt. That's thanks to her impressive decision defeat of former champ Alexa Grasso at UFC 315, which pushed her onto a 13-fight win-streak.
That being said, if the UFC decides to push ahead on a Shevchenko vs. Zhang super fight — which they hopefully will — Silva will need to take one more fight in the meantime.
If that's the way things go, she should be matched up with the winner of an upcoming fight between Maycee Barber and Erin Blanchfield. Barber and Blanchfield are two of the top contenders in the flyweight division, and the winner of their May 31 fight will be in a similar position to Silva. If it's Shevchenko vs. Zhang next, it only makes sense to have Silva fight that winner. That way, there's a clear No. 1 contender waiting in the wins for the Shevchenko vs. Zhang victor.
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Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Joel Alvarez
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Not long ago, France's Benoit Saint-Denis was one of the most hyped contenders in the lightweight division. Then he suffered back-to-back stoppage losses to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano. The Frenchman finally put those losses behind him at UFC 315, when he submitted Canada's Kyle Prepolec in the first round.
It was a crucial win for Saint-Denis, but the circumstances do matter. The French lightweight was originally set to meet rising Spanish contender Joel Alvarez at UFC 315. It was only when Alvarez was forced off the card that Saint-Denis shifted his attention to Prepolec, who made a short-notice return to the UFC after going 0-2 in his first stint with the promotion.
In other words, the win over Prepolec didn't do much to improve Saint-Denis' standing at 155 pounds. For that reason, a fight with Alvarez still makes sense. It remains an excellent matchup on paper, and the winner would be ready to take a big step up the division's rankings.
Mike Malott vs. Daniel Rodriguez
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Mike Malott's potential has been obvious for years. However, when the Canadian welterweight finally got a shot at a ranked opponent in Neil Magny early last year, he suffered tough loss that killed a lot of his hype.
After his vicious stoppage of Charles Radtke at UFC 315, which follows a decision defeat of Trevin Giles, Malott is almost ready for another fight with ranked opponent. Almost.
We'd like to see him take another step in that direction by taking on Daniel Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was back in action in Des Moines, Iowa, earlier this month, when he knocked out fellow veteran Santiago Ponzinibbio. He was briefly a part of the welterweight top-15 a few years ago, and like Malott, is now closing in on that coveted position again.
Pit the two welterweights against each other on an upcoming Fight Night lineup, and see who is ready to take the next step.
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