UFC 304: Five Things We Learned

UFC 304: Five Things We Learned

UFC 304 was a strange night of fights. The event was in Manchester, England, but aired in prime time in the United States. That means the fighters were competing in the middle of the night. In certain bouts, that strange energy was felt in the performance while it did not affect others. Ultimately, UFC 304 left us with several performances to recap.

Belal Muhammad uses a great gameplan to win UFC gold

In the UFC 304 main event, Belal Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards to win the welterweight title. The performance was a great showing of Muhammad’s game planning and intelligence.

Muhammad did some smart things throughout this bout to help him win rounds. This began with pressure. Muahhammd immediately pushed the pace and got into Edwards’ face. This crowded Edwards’ kicks and forced boxing exchanges. That helped even the striking exchanges. More importantly, it helped Muhammad land takedowns. The second Edwards would raise his hands to block punches Muhammad would shoot takedowns. This allowed him to get deep on entries. At that point, Muhammad looked for high crotch takedowns. This was effective because Edwards defended takedowns with hand control and under hooks. That is done to prevent opponents from getting their hands locked. Well, in a high crotch single leg Edwards’ defensive strengths are taken out of the picture.

This performance showed one of the biggest strengths for his potential title run. If Muhammad wants to defend the title, he will need to continue pairing his well-rounded skill set with strong game plans.

Tom Aspinall earns a fight against Jon Jones, again

In the UFC 304 co-main event, Tom Aspinall knocked out Curtis Blaydes in a minute to defend the interim heavyweight title. The bout proved that Aspinall deserves a fight against the undisputed heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

It is not a secret that Aspinall should be the one to share the octagon with Jones when he attempts to defend the title for the first time. It is not even a question at this point. It is clear he is the best challenger. Not to mention, it is simply a more interesting bout in comparison to the Stipe Miocic fight. Yes, Miocic is a legend of the sport; however, he is a 41-year-old who has not fought in over three years. It doesn’t help that his most recent fight was a knockout loss either.

Aspinall earned a fight against Jones with his UFC 295 win over Sergei Pavlovich. At UFC 304, he went out there and did it again. Hopefully, that is a fight that goes done before Jones’ career is said and done.

Paddy Pimblett picks up the best win of his career

At UFC 304, Pimblett picked up the biggest win of his MMA career as he submitted King Green in the first round. The victory catapults Pimblett in the UFC rankings.

This was a strange fight. The pair were exchanging strikes on the feet. This mostly consisted of leg kicks. That all changed when Green attempted a takedown. This played right into Pimblett’s hand. It allowed him to use his finishing instincts and submission skills to chain submissions until he landed a triangle choke.

This performance did not give any new information on Pimblett. It is not a secret that he has great submissions. That is how he earned a UFC roster spot. Nonetheless, Pimblett got the job done and earned a ranking. That’s worth respect.

Arnold Allen gets back in the win column

At UFC 304, Arnold Allen snapped a two-fight losing streak with a decision win over Giga Chikadze.

Allen did a solid job of dealing with Chikadze’s unique kick-heavy striking approach. The first round went to Chikadze, but Allen kept his foot on the gas and continued to pressure. This quickly wore on Chikadze and took the sting out of his shots. At that point, Allen could take over.

This victory was crucial for Allen’s career. A third consecutive loss would have been destructive for his career. It is easy to forgive him for consecutive losses to Max Holloway and Mosvar Evloev. A loss to Chikadze would not have been so forgiving.

Jake Hadley found the proper weight class

On the UFC 304 prelims, Jake Hadley was one of the standout performers. The Englishmen won a decision over Caolan Loughran in his bantamweight debut.

Hadley put on a strong showing in this fight. It was a three-round performance of strong boxing. Throughout this fight, he highlighted his length and ability to box from the outside. Plus, he stayed defensive and avoided Loughran’s big swings.

This was a strong showing for Hadley’s divisional debut. It seems like fighting at a higher-weight class was a smart decision.

***

CLICK HERE for more of our UFC/MMA content

Check out the Vendetta Shop

Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube

The post UFC 304: Five Things We Learned appeared first on Vendetta Sports Media .