MONTREAL 鈥� Thousands of crazed fans lined up outside Montreal's Bell Centre for hours on Thursday, despite grey skies and cool temperatures, with the hopes of catching a glimpse of their sports heroes.
However, they weren't there to see Montreal Canadiens stars like Cole Caufield or Nick Suzuki, but rather Belal Muhammad, Jose Aldo and other mixed-martial artists for the official UFC 315 press conference ahead of the main card scheduled for Saturday night.
鈥淭hat was just a little bit of a quarter of the bowl and you heard the energy,鈥� said UFC president and CEO Dana White in a one-on-one interview with The Canadian Press following the press conference. 鈥淭his place is going to be packed, sold out on Saturday. The Canadian fans are awesome.
"They always bring incredible energy. Saturday is going to be fun. It鈥檚 great to be back in Montreal.鈥�
It has been just over a decade since Montreal last hosted a card held by the American promotion. That was UFC 186, headlined by a flyweight title bout between champion Demetrious Johnson and challenger Kyoji Horiguchi on Apr. 25, 2015.
鈥淭hey deserve it,鈥� said White. 鈥淪ome of the most fun times in my career were when we were breaking into Canada back in the day, getting (professional mixed martial arts) legalized in Ontario (in 2010).
As we started to move around, whether to Montreal, the East Coast, West Coast, and everything else in between, Canada remains one my favourite places to go.鈥�
Nevertheless, 415 total UFC fight cards and 3,668 days will have passed between that spring night ten years ago and Saturday鈥檚 UFC 315 fight card featuring title bouts between welterweight champion Muhammad and fifth-ranked Jack Della Maddalena and flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko against France鈥檚 Manon Fiorot.
It鈥檚 a far cry from the six UFC events held at Bell Centre in a five-year span, between April 2008 and March 2013, four of those cards headlined by three-time welterweight champion and Canadian mixed martial arts legend Georges St-Pierre.
鈥淎s we were growing the sport and the company in the early days, there were so many of the guys, from the Chuck Liddells to the Georges St-Pierres that were so instrumental in taking this thing global,鈥� said White. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if there will ever be anybody who has an impact up here the way that St-Pierre did.鈥�
Saturday鈥檚 card is also the first being held on Canadian soil since Donald Trump was re-elected American president last 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.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 even think about that at all,鈥� said White. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 have an impact on what we do.鈥�
White points rather to other world events, such as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, as far greater hurdles that the UFC has had to recently contend with.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e a global business, there鈥檚 always going to be things every four years, or even every two years, that affect your business,鈥� said White. 鈥淣one of that stuff bothers me. We just do our thing.鈥�
The animosity existing between the two nations does risk, however, spilling into the octagon come Saturday.
During his Wednesday news conference, American welterweight Charles Radtke referenced the ongoing booing of 鈥淭he Star-Spangled Banner鈥� at Canadian sporting events in recent months, saying 鈥渨hen you all boo the national anthem, somebody鈥檚 gonna have to pay for that.鈥�
He went on to trash-talk Canada, offering an expletive-laden message to any fan at Bell Centre to jeer him during his fight with Mike Malott of Burlington, Ont.
MONTREAL鈥橲 AIEMANN ZAHABI LOOKS TO IMPRESS
Malott will not be the only Canadian fighting on home soil Saturday. Montreal鈥檚 Aiemann Zahabi is set to face off against former two-time featherweight champion Jose Aldo of Brazil in a bantamweight fight.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud to be fighting Jose Aldo,鈥� said Zahabi on Thursday. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a legend of the sport. I鈥檓 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鈥檚 a good thing my brother Firas and I prepared for the best Jose Aldo possible. I鈥檓 excited.鈥�
Zahabi will have extra support in his corner in the form of St-Pierre, who Zahabi has turned to for advice and guidance in preparation for his bout with the 38-year-old UFC Hall of Famer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2025.
Jordan Stoopler, The Canadian Press
