Canada’s Aiemann Zahabi is set for the biggest matchup of his mixed martial arts career and it’ll happen in his home province.
A bantamweight matchup between Zahabi and Hall of Famer Jose Aldo will take place at UFC 315 in Montreal, Sportsnet can confirm.
Zahabi is riding a five-fight win streak and coming off a unanimous decision victory over Pedro Munhoz in November. The 37-year-old trains out of Montreal and is the brother of famed MMA trainer Firas Zahabi.
Aldo, 38, returned from a brief retirement last year and the former featherweight champion went 1-1 in 2024 with a dominant decision win over Jonathan Martinez in May and a controversial decision loss to Mario Bautista in October.
Aldo is the No. 11-ranked contender at 135 pounds while Zahabi currently sits at No. 13 in the division.
UFC 315 is scheduled to take place May 10 at the Bell Centre. A welterweight title fight between champion Belal Muhammad and No. 4 contender Jack Della Maddalena is the main event, while women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will aim to defend her belt against No. 2-ranked Manon Fiorot in the co-main.
There will also be no shortage of Canadian representation in Montreal as the addition of Zahabi makes it four fighters now set to compete on home soil. Jasmine Jasudavicius (St. Catherines, Ont.), Mike Malott (Waterdown, Ont.) and Marc-Andre Barriault (Quebec City) are the others who'll be representing the red-and-white in the octagon at UFC 315.
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