Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammed by unanimous decision in Montreal, Canada, on Sunday morning to become the UFC welterweight champion, Afrosport reports.
The bout, which was the main event at UFC 315 at Ball Centre, saw the judges rule in favour of Della Maddalena, with the Australian taking the fight 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 on the scorecards.
The fight went the whole five rounds, and Muhammad, who was undefeated since January 2019, lost his first title defence thanks to Della Maddalena’s striking ability, which left the American bruised and bloodied.
The Palestinian-American wobbled as his 28-year-old challenger landed 200 strikes despite entering the fight after a year-long layoff.
“It feels exactly like I thought it would feel, it feels good,” said Della Maddalena in his post-fight interview. “He brings the pressure, so I had to be smart on my feet.
“Coming in there against someone like him, I had to be smart. I couldn’t spend too much time on my back. When I did, I waited until I could get my energy back and made a move.
“I wanted to take him out of there. I was gunning for a late finish. But he’s tough to put away.”
Della Maddalena’s victory saw him become the third Australian in history to hold a UFC title, joining reigning featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski and former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
Meanwhile, in the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko retained the women’s flyweight title via a unanimous decision victory over first-time UFC title challenger Manon Fiorot.
Shevchenko secured a slim win over Fiorot, with all judges scoring the fight 48-47 in favour of the 37-year-old Russian, who got a knock down towards the end of the fourth round.
“I was expecting a hard fight, Manon is a hard opponent and a good striker,” said Shevchenko, who claimed victory in her 13th title bout.”
“Everything I wanted to do getting ready for the fight, I was able to do.”
Full UFC 315 results
– Main event: Welterweight Championship: Jack Della Maddalena def. Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision (48-47 48-47 49-46), R5, 5:00
– Co-main: Women’s Flyweight Championship: Valentina Shevchenko def. Manon Fiorot via unanimous decision (48-47 48-47 48-47), R5, 5:00
– Featherweight: Aiemann Zahabi def. Jose Aldo via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00
– Women’s flyweight: Natalia Silva def. Alexa Grasso via unanimous decision (30-27 30-27 30-27), R3, 5:00
– Lightweight: Benoit Saint Denis def. Kyle Prepolec via submission (arm-triangle choke), R2, 2:35
