MONTREAL (AP) — The verbal gloves are off when it comes to the buildup to UFC 315, with the tension between the U.S. and Canada spilling into the card.
Even the style of trash talk came up for debate in the headline event between welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and challenger Jack Della Maddalena.
After Maddalena said it was time for Muhammad to retire, the champ countered that his Australian opponent isn't “really good at trash talk.”
“I just can’t wait for him to eat his words and eat these fists,” Muhammad said.
Muhammad (24-3-0 with one no-contest) will put his championship on the line for the first time and is one of two title fights. Kyrgyz-Peruvian champion Valentina Shevchenko defends her flyweight crown against Manon Fiorot of France in the co-main event.
Muhammad walked into the news conference room with his championship belt, wearing shades and a black basketball jersey with “Bully” written across the chest — a nod to his “Bully B” nickname.
“I do see myself as a bully,” he said. “I bully all these guys in the cage.”
The 36-year-old from Chicago is aiming for his 12th straight win after snatching the welterweight crown off England's Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July.
Doing so in front of Canadian and mixed martial arts legend Georges St-Pierre — a three-time welterweight champion — would be a cherry on top.
“He’s on everybody’s Mount Rushmore, a guy that I looked up to,” Muhammad said. “That’s what I’m trying to chase, right?
“My first goal was the gold. Now my next goal is the GOAT. So I’m chasing him, and to be chasing him starting here in Montreal and in front of him is going to be great.”
Della Maddalena (17-2-0), meanwhile, is on a 17-fight win streak — including seven straight in the UFC — since dropping his first two bouts as a pro.
A +145 underdog at BetMGM Sportsbook, he faces his stiffest test yet in Muhammad, but the calm-as-can-be 28-year-old doesn’t expect the winning to stop in Montreal.
“You learn a lot from losses. I learned a lot from both those ones, skill-wise and then mentally as well, and just been on a tear ever since,” he said. “I’m glad to have got the losses behind me and all wins going forward.”
Shevchenko (24-4-1) is facing a new opponent for the first time in two years after three consecutive title bouts against Mexico's Alexa Grasso, having reclaimed the flyweight crown in September.
Fiorot (12-1-0) is undefeated in seven UFC fights and trending as the slight -135 favorite to dethrone Shevchenko.
“It’s because my past three fights have been total domination compared to her, who’s had closer and tougher fights,” Fiorot said.
Shevchenko, 37, said she’s never felt better.
“If compared myself to like (a) few years ago, I’m a better version of myself — faster, stronger, more confident,” she said. “I feel the best shape that I’ve been in my entire career.”
It’s the UFC’s eighth event in Montreal and first since 2015. It’s also the 35th overall in Canada.
Saturday’s card is the first in Canada since Donald Trump was re-elected American president in November. It comes amid growing political tensions between Canada and the United States, as Trump has repeatedly suggested that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state.
“I don’t even think about that at all,” UFC President and CEO Dana White said. “That doesn’t have an impact on what we do.”
Much like the 4 Nations Face-Off, however, political tensions between Canada and the U.S. could spill over into the arena. Bell Centre also was the site of three hockey fights in nine seconds when nations met at February's 4 Nations Face-Off.
At least, that’s how American welterweight Charles Radtke views his bout with Ontario's Mike Malott — especially amid the widespread booing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Canadian sports events.
“I don’t (care) about hockey. That’s not my gig,” Radtke said. “But what I do hold dear is I grew up on a bison ranch with my grandfather, who was a sergeant major in the Marine Corps, and when you all boo the national anthem, somebody’s gonna have to pay for that.”
Radtke has in recent months promoted Trump’s “51st State” rhetoric — the source of many boos during performances of the American national anthem north of the border — and spent much of his news conference trash-talking Canada.
When asked about his message to the more than 20,000 Canadian fans likely to fill the building with jeers when he steps into the arena, he responded with an expletive.
Mallott said he doesn’t need to draw extra motivation from Radtke’s “noise.”
“If that’s where you want to put your energy, go for it,” he said ahead of their preliminary card bout. “That’s not where I’m putting my energy. I’m putting my energy into the octagon.
“It seems like we’re both really focused on me. That’s what I think about that. I don’t care what this guy’s doing.”
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