Belal Muhammad will make the first defense of his UFC welterweight title this coming May at UFC 315 after a surprising announcement by Dana White.
Last July at UFC 304, Belal Muhammad shocked the world when he dethroned Leon Edwards in Manchester, becoming the new 170lb champion.
Ahead of that fight, Muhammad trained with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev and his improvement in the wrestling department became clear early in the fight.
The 36-year-old was then scheduled to make the first defense of his title against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 this past December but a horrendous bone infection ruled Muhammad out.
Dana White announces Belal Muhammad vs Jack Della Maddalena for UFC 315
After the champion withdrew from his scheduled fight against Rakhmonov, ‘The Nomad’ stayed on the card and maintained his undefeated record with a big win over Ian Machado Garry.
Following the fight, Muhammad faced off with Shavkat Rakhmonov, seemingly setting up their fight again.
However, since then, the Chicago-born fighter has continuously teased a potential move up to the middleweight division, with Muhammed challenging Dricus Du Plessis.
Fortunately for the UFC fanbase, CEO Dana White put a stop to that feud as he announced Muhammad’s first welterweight title defense this past Wednesday.
Despite the wide belief that Muhammad would fight Rakhmonov next, White announced that he would defend his title against rank four, Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 on May 10.
The Australian was scheduled to take on ‘Rocky’ Edwards in the UFC London main event in March, however, was surprisingly upgraded to fight for the title.
Leon Edwards will now take on Sean Brady in the main event of UFC London, with Brady’s only professional loss having come against the champion, Muhammad.
Jack Della Maddalena reacts to UFC 315 title fight announcement
Since emerging in the UFC in 2021, Della Maddalena has rapidly become a favorite amongst the fanbase because of his fan-friendly fight style and charisma on the microphone.
The 28-year-old is currently on a seven-fight win streak, tied with Rakhmonov for the longest active win streak in the division.
Della Maddalena took to social media, after the fight announcement – posting on Instagram with the caption “Strap season in full swing.”
Throughout his seven-fight win streak, the Australian has come extremely close to losing on several occasions, narrowly picking up split decision wins over Bassil Hafez and Kevin Holland before beating Gilbert Burns in the final moments of their UFC 299 clash.