Georges St-Pierre back at Bell Centre as UFC returns to Montreal for first time in 10 years
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The UFC certainly knows how to put on a show.
That was on display again Thursday afternoon at the Bell Centre for a pre-fight news conference ahead of Saturday night's UFC 315 card. The news conference, which was open to the public, attracted a few thousand UFC fans who either cheered or booed loudly while the 10 fighters on the stage — along with UFC president Dana White — were answering questions.
It was quite a spectacle.
The are two events on the main card Saturday, which is available on pay-per-view starting at 10 p.m. Russia's Valentina Shevchenko will defend her UFC women's flyweight title against France's Manon Fiorot, followed by American Belal Muhammad defending his UFC welterweight title against Australia's Jack Della Maddalena.
This is the first UFC event in Montreal since UFC 186 in 2015. While there was an impressive turnout for Thursday's news conference, there were still plenty of tickets available for UFC 315 on Friday morning. The cheapest tickets in the upper deck cost $300.25, while floor seats are $963. White said after the news conference that UFC 315 will be a sellout.
The event would have been sold out already if local UFC superstar Georges St-Pierre hadn't retired in 2019 after winning three championship belts while posting a 26-2 record. St-Pierre beat Matt Serra for the UFC welterweight championship at UFC 83 in 2008 at the Bell Centre — the first UFC event held in Canada — and the Saint-Isidore native won all four times he fought in front of his adoring fans at the Bell Centre.
St-Pierre will be back at the Bell Centre on Saturday, but this time as a cornerman for Laval native Aiemann Zahabi, who will fight UFC Hall of Famer José Aldo of Brazil in one of the three undercard bouts. Zahabi's older brother, Firas, used to train St-Pierre at his Tristar Gym in Montreal.
#UFC fans waiting outside Bell Centre to get in for news conference ahead of UFC 315 card Saturday night. News conference is open to the public. pic.twitter.com/lUsA0Y7sr1
— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) May 8, 2025
Zahabi wore a snazzy three-piece, blue pinstriped suit at the news conference with a Canadian flag stitched inside the jacket. He has a 12-2 record in the bantamweight division and has won his last five fights. Aldo is 32-9 and is coming off a loss to Mario Bautista at UFC 307 last October.
'I'm proud to be fighting José Aldo, he's a legend of the sport,' Zahabi said. 'I'm even more proud to do it here at home in Montreal. I know that he said he was disappointed in his last performance, but it's a good thing my brother (Firas) and I prepared for the best Jose Aldo possible. So I'm excited.'
Muhammad, a Chicago native, wore a Chris Chelios Blackhawks sweater from the 1992 Stanley Cup final at the news conference with the Hockey Hall of Famer's name and No. 7 on the back. Muhammad is 24-3 in the welterweight division and is unbeaten in his last 11 fights, dating back more than six years. His opponent, Della Maddalena, is 17-2 with 17 straight wins going back more than nine years.
'I love this energy over here, man,' Muhammad said. 'I'm excited. I've been waiting for my first title defence. It is finally here. You're about to see the greatest MMA performance you've ever seen in your life.'
Muhammad predicted he would knock Della Maddalena out in the third round.
Among the fans in attendance Saturday will be Canadiens forward Jake Evans, who will watch UFC live for the first time.
'I've always enjoyed the sport and I think I got more into it when my good friend Jeff (Malott, who plays for the Los Angeles Kings) told me his brother (Mike) is in the UFC and fighting in it, and then we just started paying more attention to it,' Evans said on the Canadiens' website.
Mike Malott, who is from Burlington, Ont., will fight American Charles Radtke in one of the preliminary bouts Saturday (8 p.m., RS360, TVA Sports 2).
'We got to train with him for a couple of summers in a row and do some boxing classes,' Evans said. 'So I wouldn't say I'm following it along very much, but I'm always following him, Michael, around, making sure he's doing well.
'I like the sport in general,' Evans added. 'I think they're crazy athletes and you have to get into such a crazy mental state to get into the octagon and fight it out.'
One person who won't be at the Bell Centre Saturday is Joe Rogan, the popular American podcaster who is normally the voice of UFC pay-per-view events as a colour commentator. Rogan, who like White is a huge supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, said on his podcast in March that he'd rather go to Russia than Canada.
'I will not be there. I don't go to Canada anymore,' Rogan said.
Rogan will be replaced by two-time UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz on the pay-per-view broadcast.
White was asked when the UFC might come back to Montreal again.
'We haven't even left yet,' he said. 'The fight hasn't even happened yet. We'll be back here on Saturday.'
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