Canadian featherweight Gavin (Guv'nor) Tucker has been added to the UFC 315 card in Montreal for a bout with South Korean JeongYeong (Korean Tiger) Lee.
Tucker is the sixth Canadian on the May 10 card at the Bell Centre. It's the UFC's first show in Montreal since UFC 186 in April 2015 when then-flyweight champion Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson defeated Japan's Kyoji Horiguchi in the main event.
Tucker (13-3-0) lost his last two fights against quality opponents in Brazilian Diego Lopes, now ranked second among 145-pound contenders, in August 2023 and No. 14 Dan (50k) Ige of the United States in March 2021. Lopes just fought for the vacant featherweight title, losing to former title-holder Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 314 on Saturday.
Tucker, a 38-year-old from Ship Cove, N.L. who fights out of the Halifax area, is 4-3-0 in the UFC since making his debut in February 2017.
Other Canadians competing in Montreal are flyweight Jasmine Jasudavicius, bantamweights Aiemann Zahabi and Brad (Superman) Katona, welterweight (Proper) Mike Malott, and middleweight Marc-Andre (Powerbar) Barriault.
The Montreal card features two championship bouts with welterweight Belal (Remember The Name) Muhammad and flyweight Valentina (Bullet) Shevchenko putting their titles on the line.
Muhammad (24-3-0 with one no-contest) takes on Australian Jack Della Maddalena, ranked fifth among 170-pound contenders, in the main event. Shevchenko faces No. 2 Manon (The Beast) Fiorot of France in the co-main event.
Muhammad won the welterweight title off England's Leon (Rocky) Edwards at UFC 304 in July to extend his unbeaten run to 11 fights (10-0-0 with one no-contest). The 36-year-old from Chicago is 15-2-0 with one no-contest in the UFC.
Della Maddalena (17-2-0) has won 17 straight since dropping his first two bouts as a pro in May 2016. He has posted seven straight wins since arriving in the UFC, most recently knocking out No. 8 Gilbert (Durinho) Burns of Brazil at UFC 299 in July.
Shevchenko won her title back from Mexico's Alexa Grasso at UFC 306 in September in the third fight of a trilogy that saw Grasso win the title at UFC 285 in March 2023 and the two fight to a draw in September 2023.
The Kyrgyz-Peruvian champion is 13-3-1 in the UFC. Fiorot, meanwhile, has not lost since her pro debut in June 2018 with seven straight wins in the UFC.
Zahabi takes on Brazil's Jose Aldo, a UFC Hall of Famer and former featherweight champion, on the main card. Zahabi, the younger brother of respected coach Firas Zahabi, is ranked 14th among 135-pound contenders while Aldo is No. 11.
Jasudavicius, ranked ninth among flyweight contenders, has a stiff challenge in No. 7 Jessica Andrade of Brazil, a former strawweight champion. Katona fights Kazakhstan's Bekzat (The Turan Warrior) Almakhan
Malott will face American Charles (Chuck Buffalo) Radtke while Barriault takes on Brazil's Bruno (Blindado) Silva.
UFC 315 marks the UFC's eighth show in Montreal and 35th overall in Canada, spread among 11 cities.
Montreal staged the UFC's first show in Canada, UFC 83 in April 2008, when local favourite Georges St-Pierre stopped Matt (The Terror) Serra in the second round to regain his welterweight title.
The promotion's last show in Canada was a Fight Night card last November in Edmonton. The main event saw former flyweight champion Brandon (The Assassin Baby) Moreno win a decision over Amir (The Prince) Albazi.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2025.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
