Two rematches highlight the UFC's return to Manchester for UFC 304 on July 27. In the Co-op Live, Leon Edwards defends the UFC welterweight title against Belal Muhammad.
Edwards and Muhammad competed against one another in March 2021. Their fight ended in a no-contest following an eye poke to Muhammad. Since that contest, Edwards has won four straight, including a dramatic head kick to Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 to win the UFC welterweight title. He has not lost a fight since 2015 and has defended the belt twice.
Muhammad, unbeaten since 2019, has won five straight since the Edwards bout. The Chicago-born fighter believes Edwards has been ducking him, and beating him would wipe the last remnants of relevancy for the 32-year-old from Birmingham.
"He [Edwards] knows that he's going to lose," Muhammad told MMA Fighting . "He knows once this fight was signed, it was like, 'Alright, well, this is my last couple of chances walking around with this belt. This is my last couple of chances to be on a GQ magazine or going to a soccer game,' or something stupid like that. Because after he loses, nobody's going to give him any attention. He doesn't get any attention otherwise."
WATCH: UFC 304: Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad 2, exclusively on ESPN+
The co-main event will see Tom Aspinall defend the interim UFC heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes. Aspinall and Blaydes last fought in July 2022, where Aspinall injured his knee 15 seconds into the fight. Since then, the Englishman has won two straight, beating Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim belt . Blaydes lost against Pavlovich but knocked out Jailton Almeida in his last fight.
The Salford-born Aspinall is ready for a redo and to prove he is one of the top heavyweights in the world.
"Curtis is really good, he is the hardest stylistic matchup in the division for me, and I won't shy away from that," Aspinall said on UFC 304 Countdown via BJ Penn . "Defending a world title in Manchester, that is what dreams are made of, mate. I got into this sport to have nights like this. UFC 304, I'm coming in there to finish the fight from the first bell, I want to make a statement by absolutely running through him."
The Sporting News will provide results from the entire UFC 304 card. Stay tuned!
UFC 304 full card results
Main Card
- Leon Edwards (c) vs. Belal Muhammad 2 for the UFC welterweight title
- Tom Aspinall (ic) vs. Curtis Blaydes 2 for the interim UFC heavyweight title
- Bobby Green vs. Paddy Pimblett; Lightweights
- Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Gregory Rodrigues; Middleweights
- Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze; Featherweights
Prelims
- Nathaniel Wood vs. Daniel Pineda; Featherweights
- Molly McCann vs. Bruna Brasil; Strawweights
- Jake Hadley def . Caolan Loughran via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Muhammad Mokaev def . Manel Kape via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Early Prelims
- Oban Elliott def . Preston Parsons via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Marcin Prachnio via arm-triangle choke (3:12 into round three)
- Sam Patterson def . Kiefer Crosbie via arm-triangle choke (2:50 into round one)
- Mick Parkin def . Lukasz Brzeski via TKO (3:22 into round one)
- Shauna Bannon def . Alice Ardelean via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
UFC 304 start time
- Date : Saturday, July 27
- Location: Co-op Live — Manchester, England
- Time: 10 p.m. ET (8 p.m. ET for prelims) | 3 a.m BST (Sun) | 12 p.m. AEST (Sun)
The UFC 304 main card starts at the standard U.S. time of 10 p.m. ET (3 a.m. BST) despite being in the U.K. The main event should begin around 12:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. BST), depending on how long the undercard fights last.
UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 PPV price
- US: ESPN+ ($79.99 PPV fee plus $10.99/month membership)
- UK: TNT Sports (￡3.99/month or ￡39.99/year via discovery+)
- Canada: DAZN ($69.99)
UFC 304 is available on ESPN+ and ESPN+ PPV in the U.S.
WATCH: UFC 304: Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad 2, exclusively on ESPN+
The UFC 304 main card is available via pay-per-view on ESPN+, which also requires a subscription. The PPV price for UFC 304 is $79.99 for current subscribers. New subscribers can pay a bundle price of $134.98 for the UFC 304 pay-per-view and an ESPN+ annual subscription, which offers savings of more than 30 percent.
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