UFC 315 takeaways: Della Maddalena's first title defense may already be set - ESPN

UFC 315 from Montreal had it all — a new champion at welterweight, a brilliant performance for an all-time great, a legend laying down the gloves and more.

In the main event, Australia's Jack Della Maddalena showed no fear of being Belal Muhammad's first title defense. He threw hard shots at Muhammad all night while expertly avoiding his takedown attempts. By the end of the five-round battle, Della Maddalena ended up with the belt around his waist.

Women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko did what she had already done seven times before and successfully defended her title against Manon Fiorot. It was a masterful performance that begs the question of where she sits among the greatest in MMA history.

And speaking of greatest, Hall of Famer José Aldo retired again after losing to Aiemann Zahabi, his second loss in three fights since he unretired last year. Was the year we got to watch him worth it?

Jeff Wagenheim, Andreas Hale and Brett Okamoto share their thoughts on these fights.

Della Maddalena has become a UFC champion so quickly that he barely had time to work his way up the welterweight rankings. After joining the promotion in 2022, he was fighting a top-5 opponent for the first time on Saturday at UFC 315. But in terms of championship aspirations, this was the only 170-pounder who truly mattered: the champion. Della Maddalena dethroned Muhammad by beating him to the punch for five rounds, moving to 8-0 in the UFC and extending his overall winning streak to 18.

No sooner had Della Maddalena been handed the belt than the narrative shifted to his first title defense — likely a champion-versus-champion superfight against lightweight title holder Islam Makhachev. Had Muhammad won, the UFC would have gone in a