UFC 315 goes down on Saturday night in Montreal, Canada, with 12 fights scheduled.
The welterweight title is on the line in the main event between champion Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena in Montreal, Canada.
The main card features what was supposed to be a bantamweight bout between Canadian contender Aiemann Zahabi and former two-time champion Jose Aldo, one of the greatest featherweights of all time.
Initially set for 135lbs, Aldo and Zahabi weighed in at the weight class above (featherweight) on Friday morning as Aldo couldn’t make the bantamweight limit.
This wasn’t ideal for Zahabi, who was less than a pound away from the contracted weight.
The 37-year-old has nonetheless agreed to take the fight at featherweight, citing two people in particular for his decision.
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Aiemann Zahabi says brother and teammate inspired him to accept Jose Aldo fight at featherweight
A fight with Jose Aldo the biggest of his career, Zahabi had to make a choice: go through with the matchup at a weight class higher or cancel it altogether.
On the fence about taking the matchup, Zahabi says he got much-needed advice from his legendary brother Firas Zahabi, coach of all-time great welterweight Georges St-Pierre and many other fighters.
“You could say no but fight’s off,” Zahabi told Sportsnet.
“Because they have the rule of the five pound difference, fight’s off, basically.”
“So my brother told me, what would X do?” Zahabi said.
“Xavier Alaoui, what would he do? He said, ‘He’ll renegotiate. He’d take the fight…’
Nicknamed ‘The Breadman’, Alaoui (15-6) is a teammate of Zahabi’s out of Tristar gym, who apparently has that ‘anytime, anywhere’ mentality when it comes to MMA fighting.
“Xavier Alaoui, big shoutout. He’s my spirit guy, my spirit animal,” Zahabi continued.
“So, we negotiated with Sean Shelby, and he gave me an offer, I accepted, and the fight’s on.”
Aiemann Zahabi says bantamweight fight purse cut was ‘off the table’
With the last-minute weight change, Zahabi confirms Aldo won’t be fined a percentage of his fight purse like those who miss weight.
Zahabi says he was told to stop cutting weight just a few hours before the UFC 315 weigh-ins with the promotion asking for a featherweight fight instead of a catchweight.
“I just got into the blankets this morning, and I was at 136.8lbs,” Zahabi said.
“I was receiving the text and the calls to stop cutting: ‘Jose can’t make weight. He’s 145. There’s no way he’s gonna make the weight…’
“And the commission won’t allow in Montreal a five pound weight difference,” Zahabi added. “So, there’s no 20% [fine].
“We have to do a featherweight fight. Can’t do a bantamweight fight. Bantamweight fight option is off the table completely.”
Aiemann Zahabi’s currently riding a five-fight win streak in the bantamweight division, hoping to make it six in Jose Aldo’s original weight class at featherweight.