By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
UFC 315 was this past weekend and featured some exciting fights and finishes. Who won and who lost? Let’s get to the rundown.
UFC 315
GOOD- Benoit Saint-Denis submits Kyle Prepolec
Saint-Denis gets an immediate takedown. They both hunt for submissions
for a while as Saint-Denis also nails him with some strikes. They’re up and down before returning to grappling and then the first round
ends. The second round begins with Prepolec smacking Saint-Denis with
some powerful punches. He also catches him with an eyepoke, though.
After the restart, Saint-Denis gets Prepolec down and locks in an
arm-triangle choke that forces the tap halfway through the second round.
Saint-Denis improves to 14-3 with 1 No Contest while Prepolec drops to
18-9 and has his 3 fight winning streak snapped. Great win for Saint-Denis.
GOOD- Alexa Grasso vs. Natalia Silva
They start off trading kicks early before mixing in some strikes in a
tentative first round. The second round begins with more of the same
and Grasso is pretty much all jabs at this point. They brawl in the
final seconds of the second round, drawing blood and bruises from
Grasso. The third round starts with more fierce fighting from both
women. Grasso is showing good toughness but Silva is catching her with
a lot. The fight ends so we go to the judges to render their verdict.
Silva wins the decision to improve to 19-5-1 and has won 13 straight
fights while Grasso drops to 16-5-1. Good win for Silva.
GOOD- Jose Aldo vs. Aiemann Zahabi
Zahabi is hitting a lot of strikes but Aldo is coming forward, seemingly unfazed. The second round is more of the same, with both men
landing a lot of good strikes that their opponent is tanking through.
Zahabi does land nearly consecutive low blows, though. The third round
starts with Aldo crushing Zahabi and dropping him. Zahabi somehow
survives and now he has Aldo on the ropes. Zahabi is smashing Aldo
with elbows but the fight ends with no finish. We go to the judges to
render their verdict.
Zahabi wins the decision to improve to 13-2 and has won 6 straight
fights while Aldo drops to 32-10. Good win for Zahabi.
GOOD- Jose Aldo retires
Aldo announced his retirement after this fight. I wish him well in his life after fighting.
GOOD- Valentina Shevchenko vs. Manon Fiorot
Shevchenko was looking to defend her UFC Flyweight Championship for
the first time in her second title run. They trade strikes during a
first round that sees Fiorot’s nose being bloodied badly. The second
round begins with them trading strikes until Shevchenko gets a trip
takedown but they’re right back up to their feet. Fiorot gets a
takedown shortly afterward, though. The third round starts with them
trading strikes again, with the continuing story of neither woman
having a lot of success getting takedowns. There’s been a few but most
of the attempts are stuffed. They’re nailing each other with knees and
the third round ends.
The fourth round opens with more striking exchanges. Shevchenko seems
to be having a bit more success but Fiorot is showing great toughness.
Shevchenko gets a takedown but Fiorot is right back up. Shevchenko
drops Fiorot with a powerful right hand but the fourth round ends as
she pounces on her. The fifth round commences with more tough strikes
being exchanged. Great toughness on display here. This is a very close fight. We go to the judges to render their verdict.
Shevchenko wins the decision to improve to 25-4-1 while Fiorot drops
to 12-2 and has her 12 fight winning streak snapped. Cool win for Shevchenko.
GOOD- Belal Muhammad vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Muhammad was looking to defend his UFC Welterweight Championship for
the first time in this fight. They trade strikes throughout a close
first round. The second round begins with more of the same, good
toughness being shown here. Muhammad can’t get the takedown and has
his nose bloodied instead, shortly before the second round ends. The third round starts with both men landing hard strikes. Outstanding
toughness on display by both men. Della Maddalena is landing so many
damaging strikes.
The fourth round opens with Muhammad showing a lot of aggression,
knowing that he’s likely down on the scorecards. I keep repeating
myself in these fights but the toughness shown by both men is incredible. This is a hell of a fight. The fifth round commences with
Della Maddalena busting up Muhammad, who fires back with a takedown.
Della Maddalena is just ripping into the champion but Muhammad is too
tough to be stopped. This fight goes the distance so we go to the
judges to render their verdict.
Della Maddalena wins the decision to become the new UFC Welterweight
Champion and improves to 18-2 and has won 18 straight fights while
Muhammad drops to 24-4 with 1 No Contest and has his 6 fight winning streak snapped. Excellent win for Della Maddalena.
GOOD- Vitor Belfort inducted into UFC Hall of Fame
Belfort (26-14, 1 NC) will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame
during International Fight Week next month. Belfort is a former UFC
Light Heavyweight Champion, as well as winning the UFC 12 Heavyweight
Tournament. He won several performance-related bonuses in the UFC and
is a MMA legend.
My new epic fantasy book is out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: The End’s
Beginning. The exciting epic fantasy series Kingdom of Zarias
returns with the 4th book in the series. After the harrowing events of
Book 3 the residents of the Kingdom of Zarias continue on their paths.
Serena Summers continues to learn and grow as a fighter, desperately
seeking to become stronger before she loses anyone else in her life.
Daniel Summers discovers new parts of the world that open his eyes to
just how little he truly knows. A new hero, Lamar Abeers, arrives to
join the fight against evil. Plus, Zach Summers, Tiana Highsmith, and
Xavien Ekens continue their journeys with their friends, and a new
ruler of Vhaharen is crowned. The world has found a little peace.
However, that peace is only temporary. In a shocking act of violence, the monstrous villain Galren strikes from the shadows and changes the
world forever. This is Book 4 in the series. There’s lots of action,
magic, and monsters in the Kingdom of Zarias. It’s like a tabletop
game in novel form. It’s on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other places. If you’re interested, I would greatly appreciate it if you
would check it out and support me.Thank you very much, have a good
day.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank.
Thanks for reading and have a good day.
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