The verbal gloves are off when it comes to the buildup to UFC 315, with the tension between the U.S. and Canada spilling into the card. Even the style of trash talk came up for debate in the headline event between welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and challenger Jack Della Maddalena. After Maddalena said it was time for Muhammad to retire, the champ countered that his Australian opponent isn’t “really good at trash talk.” “I just can´t wait for him to eat his words and eat these fists,” Muhammad said. Muhammad (24-3-0 with one no-contest) will put his championship on the line for the first time and is one of two title fights. Kyrgyz-Peruvian champion Valentina Shevchenko defends her flyweight crown against Manon Fiorot of France in the co-main event. Muhammad walked into the news conference room with his championship belt, wearing shades and a black basketball jersey with “Bully” written across the chest – a nod to his “Bully B” nickname. “I do see myself as a bully,” he said. “I bully all these guys in the cage.” The 36-year-old from Chicago is aiming for his 12th straight win after snatching the welterweight crown off England´s Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July. Doing so in front of Canadian and mixed martial arts legend Georges St-Pierre – a three-time welterweight champion – would be a cherry on top. “He´s on everybody´s Mount Rushmore, a guy that I looked up to,” Muhammad said. “That´s what I´m trying to chase, right? “My first goal was the gold. Now my next goal is the GOAT. So I´m chasing him, and to be chasing him starting here in Montreal and in front of him is going to be great.” Della Maddalena (17-2-0), meanwhile, is on a 17-fight win streak – including seven straight in the UFC – since dropping his first two bouts as a pro. A +145 underdog at BetMGM Sportsbook, he faces his stiffest test yet in Muhammad, but the calm-as-can-be 28-year-old doesn´t expect the winning to stop in Montreal. “You learn a lot from losses.