3 biggest storylines ahead of UFC 315

UFC 315 is upon us.

In Saturday's main event, Belal Muhammad will defend the welterweight title for the first time against Jack Della Maddalena. And in the co-headliner, women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will put her belt on the line against Manon Fiorot.

Here are three key storylines ahead of the UFC's return to Bell Centre in Montreal.

Will Muhammad-Della Maddalena decide the UFC 317 main event?

For weeks, fans have patiently waited for Dana White to announce which fight will headline the UFC's annual International Fight Week pay-per-view event, UFC 317, on June 28 in Las Vegas.

It's strange, if not worrisome, that we're seven weeks away from one of the year's biggest events and still don't have a headliner. But fear not, that will likely soon change.

There's a good chance Saturday's main event between Muhammad and Della Maddalena will play a major role in deciding the UFC 317 main event and dictating the future of the lightweight division. Islam Makhachev, the promotion's dominant lightweight champion, has openly talked about his desire to move up to 170 pounds to challenge for a second title. A fight against the Muhammad-Della Maddalena winner would seem like the logical next step - ideally at UFC 317, with the promotion running out of options. However, it's not quite this straightforward.

Muhammad has said he'll never fight Makhachev because they've previously trained together. Makhachev doesn't seem particularly keen on the matchup either. This leaves the UFC in a bit of a dilemma.

If Muhammad beats Della Maddalena and holds onto the welterweight belt, that would likely force Makhachev to stay at 155 pounds for the time being. A title defense against former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria would be a shoo-in for the UFC 317 main event. But if Della Maddalena beats Muhammad, we could end up getting either a quick turnaround for the Australian against Makhachev - or, more likely, an interim or vacant lightweight title bout between Topuria and Charles Oliveira, Arman Tsarukyan, or Justin Gaethje.

Can Della Maddalena pull off the upset?

Della Maddalena has proven to be a formidable welterweight contender throughout his three-year UFC run, but there's no question this is a massive step up.

Della Maddalena - whose best wins are a come-from-behind knockout of Gilbert Burns and a split decision over Kevin Holland - has never fought someone of Muhammad's caliber. On top of that, he hasn't even headlined a UFC event until now. Though he's been scheduled for a few five-round fights on the regional circuit, Della Maddalena has never made it past the third round.

That's what makes this title fight such a tall order, at least on paper.

Of course, Della Maddalena wasn't supposed to be here. Not yet, anyway. Shavkat Rakhmonov was in line to challenge Muhammad next but was unavailable due to an injury. Della Maddalena just happened to be in the right place at the right time. This, at least to some degree, hampers the expectations for Della Maddalena. If he manages to pull off the upset and become champion, it would be quite the story.

Odds stacked against Shevchenko in latest title defense

It's rare for a UFC champion to be an underdog in a title defense, and even rarer when it's an all-time great. But that's exactly the scenario Shevchenko finds herself in against Fiorot, as she's +110 on theScore Bet as of Wednesday afternoon.

Whether you agree or disagree with those odds, it's not difficult to see why Shevchenko is the underdog. Fiorot is undefeated in the UFC and has looked like a future champion since debuting in 2021. And although Fiorot is only two years younger than the 37-year-old Shevchenko, she has way more tread on her tires, having turned pro in 2018. In comparison, Shevchenko has been fighting professionally since 2003.

Shevchenko will need a near-perfect night to retain the title, so the pressure is on. But if there's anyone who can fend off this level of challenge and prove why she's a GOAT, well, it's "Bullet."