UFC 304 begin time, full battle card particulars | Edwards vs Muhammad 2

Final Preventing Championship (UFC) returns to the pay-per-view (PPV) market later TONIGHT (Sat., July 27, 2024) on ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) from inside Co-op Reside in Manchester, England. Headlining UFC 304 is a Welterweight title battle between division kingpin, Leon Edwards, and top-ranked contender, Belal Muhammad. In UFC 304’s co-main occasion, interim Heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, will defend the strap in opposition to Curtis Blaydes, with the winner incomes an undisputed title shot subsequent.

What’s Sizzling:

It took awhile, however Muhammad lastly earned his much-desired title battle and rematch in opposition to Edwards. The 2 initially threw down in March 2021, with the battle leading to a “No Contest” after Muhammad suffered an inadvertent eye poke that left him rendered unable to proceed. Three years later, he will get his probability to dethrone “Rocky.” Muhammad is unbeaten in his final 10 fights, whereas Edwards is maybe the most popular fighter within the recreation — subsequent to Alex Pereira — unbeaten in his final 12 fights. However, he’s achieved so in a refined method, not competing for 1.5 years. Now, he’s out to remind everybody the rationale(s) he’s actually among the finest fighters on the earth no matter division.

Muhammad isn’t a pushover, not by a protracted shot, and their first battle was really fairly aggressive. The issue with “Bear in mind The Title,” nevertheless, is that he merely doesn’t have a ton of finishes on his resume, racking up simply two throughout his win streak. To some battle followers, that isn’t interesting, and in the event you don’t have the followers backing the concentration is going to shine elsewhere. That stated, Muhammad can flip it throughout for himself if he can pull off the massive upset in opposition to “Rocky.” To try this, although, he must be on his “A” recreation as a result of Edwards hasn’t proven any evident weak spot in his arsenal. In actual fact, he has proven to be among the finest on the earth and typically doesn’t get the credit score he actually deserves. If he can take out Muhammad moderately convincingly, will probably be the begin to a possible run that may in the future have him in comparison with the all-time greats Welterweight UFC champions.

What’s Not:

A Middleweight battle between Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Gregory Rodrigues by some means managed to get a spot on UFC 304’s PPV fundamental card and it has me a bit perplexed. Certain, Duncan is 3-1 contained in the Octagon and on a two-fight win streak, whereas “Robo Cop” is 4-1 in his final 5 contained in the Octagon. However, if I’m paying massive bucks for a PPV card, I don’t count on to see these two names in the midst of the primary card. If it have been a “Struggle Evening” occasion, I perceive, however this a significant PPV card. If the purpose is to promote, you gained’t do it with these two names. Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev appeared like a greater match.

Unique Card Vs. Precise Card:

Hecher Sosa withdrew from his scheduled battle in opposition to Caolan Loughran for causes that weren’t revealed. He was rapidly changed by Jake Hadley, who missed weight by 1.5 kilos, leading to a 20 % positive that can go to Loughran. “The Don” is coming off his first UFC win, defeating Angel Pacheco in March of this 12 months. As for Hadley, he’s attempting to earn a much-needed win after dropping back-to-back fights to Cody Durden and Charles Johnson.

Accidents:

Ravena Oliveira suffered an undisclosed damage that pressured her out of her scheduled ladies’s Bantamweight bout in opposition to Shauna Bannon. In consequence, she was changed by UFC newcomer (and TikTok star), Alice Ardelean.

New Blood:

Ardelean — who’s finest recognized for her TikTok’s — received an sudden name as much as the massive leagues to make her UFC debut on just some weeks discover. She’s going to tackle Shauna Bannon, placing up her five-fight win streak on the road. It’s a win streak she began in 2016, shortly after struggling a submission loss to Weili Zhang on the regional circuit. As for Bannon, she got here up quick in her personal UFC debut, dropping to Bruna Brasil, snapping her five-fight win streak. A lot was made about Ardelean getting the nod, now she has an opportunity to show her doubters incorrect on the massive stage.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape have been at every others’ throats all battle week (actually), for the reason that two males have a hatred that runs deep. They allegedly received right into a fist battle earlier this 12 months at UFC’s Efficiency Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada, and so they have been going at it ever since. Earlier this week, they received into yet one more brawl once they crossed paths on the fighter lodge. Throughout weigh ins, Mokaev threw a water bottle at Kape, however now it’s time to make it official. Mokaev at the moment sits at No. 6 on the official rankings and has gained all six of his UFC fights, bringing his report to 12-0-1. Another win places him into the High 5 and nearer to a title shot. As for Kape, after dropping his first two fights below UFC’s banner, he turned it round by profitable 4 straight, ok to place him at No. 8. The previous Rizin Bantamweight champion is now eyeing a soar into the High 5, and a win over Mokaev will get him there. This battle belongs on the primary card!

Nathaniel Wooden’s three-fight win streak and momentum was snapped after he bumped into Muhammad Naimov at UFC 294. It was an enormous blow to the British brawler’s hopes of cracking the High 15, which is one thing that appeared to be a given for him early on in his UFC profession. However, six years in, he has but to perform that feat. Now, he’s out to get again into the win column when he battles Daniel Pineda, who’s coming off a loss to Alex Caceres. Pineda is a scrappy opponent who, if given the prospect, can damage an opponent’s night time in a rush as a result of all of his 28 wins have come through stoppage.

In Welterweight motion, Oban Elliott will tackle Preston Parsons. At the moment on a six-fight win streak, Elliott gained his UFC debut, defeating Valentine Woodburn through unanimous determination. Parson, in the meantime, has alternated wins and losses to the tune of a 2-2 report below the UFC banner. In one other 170-pound tilt, Sam Patterson — who’s 1-1 below the UFC banner — will tackle Kiefer Crosbie, who got here up quick in his UFC debut by dropping to Kevin Jousset with simply 11 seconds remaining within the first spherical again in Sept. 2023.

Molly McCann received again into the win column after choosing up a much-needed win over Diana Belbita earlier this 12 months, snapping her two-fight dropping streak. McCann has the entire vitality on the earth, however she will’t appear to regulate it to her benefit contained in the cage (or use it, for that matter). She tends to get a bit overzealous, permitting her foes to make use of it in opposition to her. Her foe, Bruna Brasil, is simply 1-2 contained in the Octagon, however a win over “Meatball” would be the greatest of her profession.

Undefeated Heavyweight prospect (9-0, 3-0 UFC), Mick Parkin, returns to the cage to face off in opposition to Lukasz Brzeski. Parkin has 5 knockouts in his resume, however he has but to safe one contained in the Octagon. That stated, Parkin does have heavy palms, and he has proven to have a fairly full recreation. So far as Brzeski is anxious, he scored his first win below the UFC banner by defeating Valter Walker through unanimous determination. Previous to that, he had misplaced all three of his fights contained in the Octagon.

Kicking off the occasion is the lengthy Gentle Heavyweight matchup as Modestas Bukauskas battles Marcin Prachnio. Bukauskas noticed his four-fight win streak exit the window in his most up-to-date battle, dropping to Vitor Petrino through knockout in Nov. 2023. Prachnio, in the meantime, has been preventing for the promotion for six years now, however he did not make a lot noise, racking up a 4-5 report within the span.

Who Wants A Win Badly:

Arnold Allen had, at one level, gained 12 straight, together with his first 10 fights contained in the Octagon. Alongside the best way, he earned massive wins over the likes of Dan Hooker and Calvin Kattar, incomes him an enormous battle in opposition to Max Holloway. A win would have earned him a title battle greater than doubtless, as an alternative a loss snapped his win streak that took him eight years to construct. After that, he suffered his second straight defeat after working into Movsar Evloev. Now, he’s eyeing a possible third straight loss when he goes up in opposition to Giga Chikadze, who has gained 10 of his final 11 fights. One other loss gained’t get Allen minimize, however he wants it for his confidence transferring ahead.

Curiosity Degree: 7/10

The co-main occasion options one other rematch as Aspinall will face off in opposition to Blaydes, placing his interim Heavyweight title on the road within the course of. The 2 males initially threw down again in July 2022 with the battle ending in moderately anti-climactic trend after Aspinall suffered a devastating knee damage seconds into the bout. Since then, he has undergone surgical procedure, got here again with a vengeance by securing a first-round knockout win over Marcin Tybura one 12 months later, and adopted it up with one other first spherical knockout win over Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim strap. Whereas he was decided to attend for a possible big-money title battle in opposition to Jon Jones, that’s a very long time to be on the sidelines since “Bones” is in talks to battle Stipe Miocic someday later this 12 months. For now, he’ll look to get a win over Blaydes whereas holding his interim strap intact.

As for Blaydes, he has gone 1-1 since his preliminary conflict with Aspinall, dropping to Sergei Pavlovich earlier than bouncing again with an enormous knockout win over Jailton Almeida. He clearly wasn’t proud of how his first battle in opposition to Aspinall went down, and now’s out to safe his first style of UFC gold, all whereas stealing Aspinall’s title unification bout. Blaydes has the wrestling benefit right here straightforward, however the towering Brit has a number of the quickest palms in relation to massive males. This one might be tough to foretell.

One of many extra intriguing non-title fights of the night is the return of Paddy Pimblett in opposition to King Inexperienced, who’s at the moment holding down the No. 15 spot. With a report of 3-1 in his final 4 fights contained in the Octagon, King needs to leap up the ladder and get nearer to a title shot, which is a good distance away. Nonetheless, taking out “The Baddy” is a big step in the appropriate path. However, it gained’t be a straightforward job as a result of Pimblett — who’s at the moment un-ranked — is out to crash the High 15 for the primary time in his UFC profession. He has at all times talked a very good recreation — even when it’s not in opposition to his opponents — and up to now he has backed it up, going excellent (5-0) contained in the Octagon, bettering his win streak to seven in a row. However, a win over Inexperienced is what is going to get him over the hump and into the High 15 … possibly even the High 10. This can undoubtedly be “The Baddy’s” greatest check thus far, now it’s time to see if he can ship seeing as how Inexperienced has a built-in benefit.

Benefit from the fights!

Full UFC 304 Struggle Card:

UFC 304 Foremost Occasion On ESPN+ PPV:

170 lbs.: UFC Welterweight champion Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad 2

UFC 304 Co-Foremost Occasion On ESPN+ PPV:

265 lbs.: UFC Interim Heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes 2

UFC 304 Foremost Card On ESPN+ PPV (10 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Bobby Inexperienced vs. Paddy Pimblett185 lbs.: Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Gregory Rodrigues145 lbs.: Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze

UFC 304 ‘Prelims’ Card On ESPN2, ESPN+ (8 p.m. ET):

125 lbs.: Muhammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape145 lbs.: Nathaniel Wooden vs. Daniel Pineda115 lbs.: Bruna Brasil vs. Molly McCann135 lbs.: Caolan Loughran vs. Jake Hadley

UFC 304 Early ‘Prelims’ Card On ESPN+ (6 p.m. ET):

265 lbs.: Mick Parkin vs. Lukasz Brzeski170 lbs.: Oban Elliott vs. Preston Parsons170 lbs.: Sam Patterson vs. Kiefer Crosbie135 lbs.: Shauna Bannon vs. Alice Ardelean205 lbs.: Modestas Bukauskas vs. Marcin Prachnio

*Struggle card, bout order and variety of fights stay topic to vary.*

MMAmania.com will ship LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow protection of your complete UFC 304 battle card RIGHT HERE, beginning with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, adopted by the remaining undercard stability on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, earlier than the PPV fundamental card begin time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

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