Dana White had his knickers in a twist when an injured Shavkat Rakhmonov was forced to decline the fight against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315. This made the UFC head honcho call in Jack Della Maddalena to the rescue and fight Muhammad for the welterweight belt. The Australian was set to to face Leon Edwards at UFC London in March, but was replaced by Sean Brady. However, the professionals and fans weren’t really happy with the decision. Della Maddalena is at the #5 spot in the welterweight rankings. This means there are 3 other highly skilled matchups for ‘Remember The Name’. And that created quite an uproar in the fighting community, with Colby Covington and Ian Garry publicly lashing out at the matchmakers’ decision. However, White wasn’t one to let the hype train derail. And since this is the UFC’s first-ever event in Montreal in a decade, White had to call in some Canadian legends to his aid.
The UFC’s Instagram profile recently revealed that the UFC 315 press conference will feature all the main card contenders, including Jose Aldo, Alexa Grasso, Benoit Saint-Denis, and their opponents. Of course, Muhammad, Della Maddalena, Shevchenko, and Fiorot will take up the center stage on 8 May 2025. And the ceremonial weigh-in and the UFC Weigh-In Show will go live on 9 May 2025. And the scales will start speaking at 5 pm ET. But the program that will introduce UFC 315 to the fighting community on 9th May is the UFC 315 Q&A.
Hosted by the beloved UFC play-by-play commentator, Jon Anik, the doors will open for the public right at 3:30 pm ET. Of course, it’s going to be free and open to the fans. But do you know the legends that the UFC head honcho sought out for the Q&A? It’s going to be a band of four with Georges St-Pierre, Valerie Letourneau, Rory MacDonald, and Patrick Cote. Yes, White seemed to believe that a Q&A session with the four Canadian legends would certainly boost the hype train around the event in Montreal. And that’s not all.
The VIP ticket packages for UFC 315 has advertised the presence of arguably the biggest UFC fan-favorite on the planet right now – Alex Pereira! The former light-heavyweight champion will be in the VIP lounge. According to the UFC website, the different VIP packages offer “reserved seating at the ceremonial weigh-ins, exclusive in-venue hospitality featuring appearances by Alex Pereira and other UFC athletes, an opportunity to step inside the iconic UFC Octagon, and more.” But will out-of-cage attractions make up for a lackluster card inside the Octagon?
The welterweight main event will showcase high-level MMA – take a look at the records of the participants. But are they promoting themselves well enough? For a business that thrives on drama, Muhammad and Della Maddalena need to make some noise outside the cage to sell some tickets, and that message seems to have gotten through to them.
It’s true that White has done almost everything he could to push through and make the event as exciting as possible. Yet, not everyone was happy with the final fight of the night. And that’s when the main eventers swooped in with a set of promises and confidence that seemed to have put the fighting realm on the edge.
Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena keep the hype up despite intense criticism
In a recent conversation with Tim Welch, Colby Covington ripped apart the main event for UFC 315. The former UFC interim welterweight champion said, “I see that bout really boring the fans. I feel bad for the fans that that’s what they get for a title fight. That’s just p— poor, and two losers in the sport that don’t draw flies to s—.”
Nevertheless, Muhammad and Della Maddalena did succeed in giving the event a good boost. The welterweight champion took things a bit further and promised not to use his superior wrestling skills and show the world that he’s good with his fists too. He stated, “I’m gonna go in there, I’m gonna outbox Jack. I’m not gonna shoot one takedown, and I’m gonna show him the meaning of Canelo hands.”
Meanwhile, Della Maddalena seemed equally confident about fighting Muhammad. According to him, he has fought multiple opponents like ‘Remember The Name’. But the same can’t be said for the Palestinian champion. And with this additional bit of experience, the welterweight title challenger claimed, “I think I’m going to steamroll him. I think I can get the finish.” But we still have to wait for Saturday night to witness the showdown between the top-tier welterweights.
What are your thoughts on White’s move to build the hype around UFC 315? Do you think we’ll stay entertained with the Q&A session with four Canadian legends? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post Dana White Calls Upon Georges St-Pierre & Other Canadian Legends to Boost UFC 315 Hype Amid Main Card Debacle appeared first on EssentiallySports.
