For the first time in 10 years, the Bell Centre will be switching out the Canadiens for a UFC title fight.
Montreal is no stranger to the octagon though, having three of the top 10 highest attended UFC cards in their history.
They will be treated to a tremendous main and co-main event with two championship belts on the line.
In the co-main it’s Manon Fiorot taking on the champion, Valentina Shevchenko with the women’s flyweight belt on the line.
In the main event, Belal Muhammad will be taking on Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight championship.
Starting with the latter, this will be the first title defense for Muhammad since beating Leon Edwards to win the belt in July of last year.
He’ll be taking on Della Maddalena, or JDM, who comes into this fight on a 17-fight winning streak including an 8-0 record in the UFC.
In a loaded welterweight division, JDM has quickly risen to contender status after a TKO win over Gilbert Burns over a year ago.
He’s won via finish in five of his eight UFC wins and 14 of his 17 career wins, including eight first round finishes.
Amongst 170-pounders all time, JDM ranks top five in knockdowns per 15 minutes, significant strike accuracy, strikes landed per minute and striking differential.
He comes into this fight at just 28-years old, which would make him the youngest active champion by three years.
On the other hand, things couldn’t be more different.
Muhammad had 24 wins in his career, only winning six of those by finish, five KOs and one submission.
His nickname, “remember the name,” has been joked about in the UFC fandom and has been unofficially changed to “remember the decision,” in honor of his 18 decision wins.
I really hope the fight is exciting, but I don’t think that will be the case.
Muhammad is extremely experienced, especially compared to a much younger JDM.
He’ll use that IQ to get JDM in some bad situations, landing some bad strikes and taking JDM to the ground a few times.
It’s very possible JDM could land a few big punches on Muhammad and take advantage of a mistake by Muhammad.
If I was picking with my heart, I’d pick JDM by KO, but if I was picking with my head, I’d go Muhammad by decision.
In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko will be defending her belt for the ninth time after winning it back at UFC 306.
Shevchenko is one of the most decorated women’s MMA athletes ever, but faces a real test with Manon Fiorot.
Fiorot is 35-years old, but has only 13 MMA fights under her belt, seven of them being in the UFC.
Her last five wins have all come by decision, but is a great striker.
She’s fifth all-time in the women’s flyweight division in strikes landed per minute and second in striking differential.
UFC.com currently has Fiorot as a slight favorite, but I think Shevchenko will get the job done.
I have the fight going to a decision, with Shevchenko winning, setting up a rematch in the near future.
This should be an exciting night of fighting with an electric crowd in Montreal.
Judges Scorecard Parlay (odds according to FanDuel):
JDM by KO/TKO +310
Shevchenko Moneyline +118
Shevchenko vs. Fiorot to go the distance: Yes -280
$10 to win 109.45
