Australia has a rich history in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts and is increasingly developing our talent within the country.
The pathway to UFC success was initially set out by the likes of Elvis Sinosic, Mark Hunt and George Sotiropolos but it has been Alexander Volkanovski and Rob Whittaker who have shown that gold can be achieved.
Jack Della gets his opportunity in Montreal, Canada this weekend when he faces Belal Muhammad for the UFC Welterweight title and etch his name in Australian MMA folklore forever.
The women’s flyweight title will also be on the line when Valentina Shevchenko defends her belt once again when she takes on Manon Fiorot.
I made over eight units profit at UFC Des Moines last week and am keen to continue the good run in Canada.
Belal Muhammad vs Jack Della Maddalena
I have the utmost respect for these athletes and what they put their bodies through for our entertainment so keep that in mind when I make the following statement.
Belal Muhammad is the most boring UFC champion that we have ever seen.
In 19 UFC fights, he has not once knocked his opponent down.
He has fought once in the last 732 days.
Belal is currently tied for the most decision wins in UFC welterweight history with another fighter who was criticized for being boring in Georges St-Pierre.
But just like GSP, Belal just keeps winning.
After a shaky start in the UFC, losing two of his first three fights, he has added just one loss in 16 subsequent fights including the title against Leon Edwards in July 2024.
Jack Della lost the first two fights of his professional MMA career via finish but is undefeated in 17 fights since, including the Eternal MMA welterweight title which he defended four times before gaining a UFC contract through Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021.
He has won four bonuses in his last five fights in the octagon including a third round knockout of Gilbert Burns this time last year, the fifth finish of his seven fight UFC career.
The issue, for fans at least, with Belal, and other champions like Merab Dvalishvili, is their pure wrestling tactics.
They offer little threat with their hands on their feet, and when the fight inevitably goes to the canvas, they are no submission threat either.
This is both a curse, and an opportunity for JDM.
There will be times in this fight when he is on his back and unable to get up but he knows the game plan and can prepare accordingly for it.
It will be tough to win a decision against a guy that controls so much of the fight either up against the cage in the clinch, or in a dominant position on the ground so JDM will need to make it count when he has his opportunities.
He is a very well rounded mixed martial artist so don’t discount his submission game either.
Bring gold home Jack!
½ Unit Jack Della by KO/TKO or Submission @ $3.90
Valentina Shevchenko vs Manon Fiorot
Valentina Shevchenko is looking to further enhance her standing as one of the greatest female mixed martial artists of all time on Sunday afternoon.
The only challenger to that claim is Amanda Nunes and while both women had long reigns as champion, lost, and then retained their belt, Nunes then defended once in her second time around before retiring.
Valentina can equal that feat in this fight.
Her three-peat with Alexa Grasso ended with one win, one loss and a draw when she retained her flyweight belt in September of last year via a unanimous decision.
Manon Fiorot had been waiting in the wings for her shot at Valentina while that trilogy was happening, knowing she was the next obvious challenger.
The Frenchwoman has strung together 12 consecutive wins and leapfrogged other contenders such as Kaitlyn Chookagian, Rose Namajunas and Erin Blachfield in the process.
The punters have certainly rallied with Fiorot and she heads into the fight as favourite.
Maybe this is because they see an up and coming fighter with a big win streak but the fact is that Shevchenko is only two years older than Fiorot.
Experience counts for a lot in this sport and Valentina knows how to score points that earns her the nod from judges on most occasions.
If we couple that with the fact that Fiorot’s last five fights have required a judge’s decision, and we are getting such good odds for one of the greatest to ever do it, it makes it an easy betting play.
2 Units Valentina Shevchenko To Win @ $2.25
Jose Aldo vs Aiemann Zahabi
Hall of famer, and the second best Featherweight of all time (behind Volk) Jose Aldo continues his incredible career on Sunday as he contests his 42nd pro MMA fight.
Adding longevity to his astounding career that involved many title defences as champion of the featherweight division is no easy feat.
To put it into perspective Aldo has had 14 fights (7:7) since his loss to Conor McGregor in 2015 and the Irishman has had seven (3:4).
He failed in his bid to win a second belt in two divisions when he lost via TKO to Petr Yan in 2020 but has four wins and two losses since.
Aiemann Zahabi carries the local hopes and the Canadian earns his chance against a legend of the sport because of five wins in succession.
The most impressive of those wins was his last, against Pedro Munhoz late last year via unanimous decision.
Although younger than Aldo, Zahabi is no spring chicken himself at 37 years of age, and while I’m not confident betting in the head to head market I do think he is overs to get a finish against a guy of Aldo’s age.
½ Unit Aiemann Zahabi by KO/TKO
Alexa Grasso vs Natalia Silva
Alexa Grasso became the first Mexican woman to become a UFC champion when she caused a massive upset and beat Valentina Shevchenko in March of 2023.
As outlined earlier, this set up a trilogy of fights which was split evenly and Grasso is keen to climb the mountain once more.
Brazilian Natalia Silva stands in her way and brings a 12 fight win streak into the contest.
Half of those wins have come in the biggest promotion in the sport and two via KO/TKO.
She is a blue belt in BJJ and her grappling skills are evident by her seven submission wins making her a dangerous prospect wherever this fight takes place.
Alexa Grasso has proven herself at the top of this sport and the opening price of $1.45 for her opponent shows the danger that awaits her.
This is not a betting proposition and I’ll be watching on.
No Bet
Benoit Saint-Denis vs Kyle Prepolec
Benoit Saint-Denis entered the UFC in 2021 with a decision loss and that would be the last time the judges were required in one of his fights.
He put together a five fight win streak in which he won by either KO/TKO or submission and has lost his last two in a row by KO./TKO to Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano.
In fact, he has 17 professional MMA fights during his career and all but one have gone the distance.
This is the second chance at a UFC career for Canadian Kyle Prepolec having lost both his fights in the promotion back in 2019.
He has earned another chance via three consecutive knockout wins all of which ended in the first round and what better way to return to the UFC than in front of his home crowd who are always loud and supportive of their own.
BSD will start the shortest price favourite on the entire card but after two losses in a row I’m predicting he gets a good feel for his opponent during the first round.
2 Units Fight To Start Round 2