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Fighters on the Rise | UFC 315: Muhammad vs. Della Maddalena
Identifying Three Athletes Looking To Make Major Statements This Weekend In Montreal
The last time the UFC ventured to Montreal, Taylor Swift’s 1989 album was still cranking out No.1 singles to compete with “Uptown Funk” and “See You Again.”
To put that in perspective, Tay has dropped six albums since then (not including the various Taylor’s Versions), there have been 128 pay-per-view events (give or take one or two), and only one fighter that competed that dreary overcast night in April 2015 — I was there, it was gray and dull outside — is on the UFC roster today, Kyoji Horiguchi, who lost to Demetrious Johnson in the final second of the main event and is now readying to make his return to the Octagon in June.
Short version: it’s been too long since the UFC touched down at Bell Centre and it’s awesome that the Octagon is finally back in la belle province this week for UFC 315.
Saturday’s fight card is flush with incredible matchups, including a pair of dynamic championship bouts to close out the show, and there are several athletes on this card angling to use this event as a chance to catapult themselves to even greater opportunities later this year.
Here’s a closer look at three of those competitors and what is at stake for them this weekend in the latest edition of Fighters on the Rise.
Aiemann Zahabi
Fighters On The Rise | UFC 315: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena
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Fighters On The Rise | UFC 315: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena
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The last Canadian to make the walk on Saturday night is Montreal’s own Aiemann Zahabi, who will share the Octagon with Brazilian legend Jose Aldo in the final non-title bout of the evening.
Zahabi is one of the best stories going in the UFC at the moment.
UFC 315 Full Fights: Muhammad vs Edwards 2 | Della Maddalena vs Burns | Shevchenko vs Murphy | Fiorot vs Namajunas
The 37-year-old younger brother of Tristar Gym leader Firas Zahabi got fights in fits and starts during his four years competing on the regional circuit, earned a victory in his UFC debut, and then suffered consecutive losses to Ricardo Ramos and Vince Morales to fall to 1-2 inside the Octagon by the time 2019 came to a close. The loss to Ramos left him questioning his future in the cage, and coming up short against Morales put his back up against the wall heading into his return bout in early 2021 against highly regarded prospect Drako Rodriguez.
Zahabi won the fight by first-round knockout and has subsequently added four additional wins to his run of success to force his way into the Top 15 in the talent-rich bantamweight ranks. Last year, he handed Javid Basharat his first professional loss and followed it up with a dominant decision win over Pedro Munhoz in Edmonton to land as the lone Canadian male with a number next to their name heading into the weekend.
Technically sound and defensively responsible, Zahabi is a dark horse in the division with a chance to push into the Top 10 with a strong showing on Saturday.
Aldo remains a tough test for everyone that shares the Octagon with him, as evidenced by his win over Jonathan Martinez and tight, competitive battle with Mario Bautista. Though he’s 38 now, the quickness and takedown defense remain impeccable, and we even saw flashes of the vintage Aldo leg kicks last year, and he’s surely capable of halting Zahabi’s ascent this weekend.
That being said, this is a good spot for the French-Canadian — he looked his best against Munhoz last time out and continues to grow in confidence with each appearance. While the division is flush with ascending names and skilled competitors, a big win here likely sets up a bout with someone in the Top 10, and from there, you’re never more than a couple wins and a few favorable bounces away from a spot in the Top 5 or a championship opportunity of your own.
Navajo Stirling
A member of the vaunted City Kickboxing team in Auckland, New Zealand, Navajo Stirling makes his second foray into the UFC Octagon this weekend in a clash with fellow sophomore Ivan Erslan.
The 27-year-old light heavyweight, who comes from a kickboxing background like many of his teammates, has registered six wins in as many starts since transitioning to MMA. Last fall, he scored a second-round stoppage win over Phillip Latu on Season 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series to earn his place on the roster, and then in December, he ventured to Tampa, Florida for the final fight card of 2024, registering a unanimous decision win over Tuco Tokkos in his promotional debut.
Stirling is still a little raw when it comes to his overall mixed martial arts game, but the foundational elements for his having a successful long-term career at this level are there. He has tremendous size for the division, standing six-foot-four, and already has a keen understanding of range and good distance management, as well as clear power in all his weapons. As he continues to build out his tool kit and garner additional experience, he profiles as someone that could develop into a Top 15 talent in the 205-pound ranks.
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In Erslan, he faces a 33-year-old veteran with three times as much experience who twice fought for championship gold under the KSW banner. The Croatian has struggled to find consistent success as of late, and landed on the wrong side of the cards in his promotional debut, but did put Ion Cutelaba to the distance and a split decision verdict when the two met in Paris back in September.
This is a good lateral step for Stirling as he makes the walk to the Octagon for the second time and kicks off his 2025 campaign, and a chance to see what kind of improvements and advancements have been made since he swept the scorecards against Tokkos last December.
Given the talent he’s surrounded by at City Kickboxing, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take a major step forward in his sophomore outing, and another strong effort would certainly put him on the map as a long-range prospect to track going forward in the light heavyweight ranks.
Jasmine Jasudavicius
While Zahabi is the lone ranked Canadian male, Jasmine Jasudavicius is the highest ranked Canadian fighter on the UFC roster, entering her clash with Jessica Andrade stationed at No. 9 in the flyweight rankings.
The Niagara Top Team representative has been accruing momentum for the last 16 months, beginning with her lopsided stoppage win over Priscila Cachoeira last year in Toronto and rolling on into her sweep of the scorecards against Mayra Bueno Silva in Saudi Arabia earlier this year. In all, the Dana White’s Contender Series graduate has posted four straight wins, showing continuous improvements and greater understanding of how to fight to her strengths with each passing outing.
Jasudavicius always looks a little harried and off-rhythm inside the Octagon, but it belies the fact that she’s a strong athlete with excellent conditioning, which has been another key factor in her rise in the ranks.
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This weekend, she’s set to step in with Andrade, a former strawweight champion posted up in the Top 10 at both 115 and 125 pounds who is looking to get back into the win column following a Fight of the Night clash with Natalia Silva last year in her return to the flyweight division. She’s just 3-3 while competing in the 125-pound weight class, dropping each of her last two outings, but is without question the most experienced and dangerous opponent Jasudavicius has faced thus far in her UFC career.
Saturday is a massive night for the flyweight division, as there are three bouts between ranked competitors on the card, with Erin Blanchfield and Maycee Barber set to headline opposite one another later this month, meaning this is a prime opportunity for the ascending Canadian to turn in another emphatic effort and put herself in a position for an even bigger fight later in the year.
UFC 315: Muhammad vs Della Maddalena took place live from Bell Centre in Montréal, Québec, Canada on May 10, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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