Former flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Canadian middleweight Marc-Andre (Power-Bar) Barriault will both fight Brazilians on the UFC 315 card in Montreal in May.
Grasso takes on Natalia Silva while Barriault faces Bruno (Blindado) Silva in the first two bouts confirmed by the UFC for the May 10 show at the Bell Centre.
Grasso (16-4-1) lost her title last time out to Kyrgyz-Peruvian Valentina (Bullet) Shevchenko at UFC 306 in September in the third fight of a trilogy that saw Mexican win the title at UFC 285 in March 2025 and fight to a draw in September 2023.
Natalie Silva (18-5-1) is ranked fifth among the UFC’s 125-pound contenders. The 28-year-old has won 12 straight, including all seven UFC bouts, since a decision loss to marina Rodriguez in December 2017. That win streak includes a decision over Canadian Jasmine Jasudavicius, currently ranked No. 9 among flyweight contenders, in June 2022.
Barriault (16-9-0) has lost three straight, the last two by first-round knockout at the hands of American Joe (Bodybag) Pyfer and Dustin Stoltzfus. The 35-year-old from Gatineau, Que., who trains in Florida, is 5-8-0 with on no contest in UFC action.
Bruno Silva (23-12-0) has lost four straight and is 4-6-0 in the UFC. He went the distance with Brazil’s Alex Pereira, losing a decision in March 2022 before Pereira won the middleweight title. Pereira is the UFC’s current light-heavyweight title-holder.
The UFC last came to Montreal in April 2015 when then-flyweight champion Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson defeated Japan’s Kyoji Horiguchi in the main event of UFC 186. UFC 315 will mark 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.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
