UFC
UFC 304 full card: Edwards vs Muhammad, fights, order and schedule
Manchester hosts July’s event with two local champions defending their titles in front of their home crowd. Manchester-based Mokaev and Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett are the other two big stars of the night.
UFC returns to European soil on Saturday to celebrate its 304th event. This weekend’s fight card will be headlined by two local champions in Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall, who will defend their respective belts on a magical night for English MMA.
Facing the two champions will be Belal Muhammad and Curtis Blaydes, in two fights that have a somewhat controversial previous edition in both cases: the first Edwards vs Muhammad was declared No Contest due to an eye poke, while Blaydes beat Aspinall by withdrawal after a serious ligament injury shortly after the start of the fight in which the Englishman was reborn.
Outside of the headline fights, Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett is the big star of the night, while Muhammad Mokaev, The Punisher, who has connections to Manchester starts as the big prospect who is set to take a step up in level in front of a home crowd. Both fighters will be the fans’ favourites in two very difficult fights due to the level of their rivals.
UFC 304 full card
Main event starts at 3 a.m. local time BST / 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT)
| COMBAT | CATEGORY |
|---|---|
| Leon Edwards (C) vs Belal Muhammad | Welterweight |
| Tom Aspinal (C) vs Curtis Blaydes | Heavyweight |
| King Green vs Paddy Pimblett | Light weight |
| Leroy Duncan vs Gregory Rodrigues | Middleweight |
| Arnold Allen vs Giga Chikadze | Featherweight |
Preliminary fights starts at 3 a.m. local time BST / 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT)
| COMBAT | CATEGORY |
|---|---|
| Nathaniel Wood vs Daniel Pineda | Featherweight |
| Molly McCann vs Bruna Brazil | Straw Weight |
| Jake Hadley vs Caolan Loughran | Bantamweight |
| Modestas Bukauskas vs Marcin Prachnio | Heavyweight |
Early prelims (starts at 11 p.m. local time BST / 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT)
| COMBAT | CATEGORY |
|---|---|
| Oban Elliott vs Preston Parsons | Welterweight |
| Muhammad Mokaev vs Manel Kape | Flyweight |
| Sam Patterson vs. Kiefer Crosbie | Welterweight |
| Mick Parkin vs Lukasz Brzeski | Heavyweight |
| Shauna Bannon vs Ravena Oliveira | Straw Weight |
‘Paddy the Baddy’, father to twins
In his pre-fight interview, Pimblett said he is raring to go. “I just can’t wait to fight. It’s been a long build-up, it’s been a while. I haven’t fought since December, we’re now in late July, so seven months... " he said. “A lot’s changed. I’ve got two daughters now, twin baby girls, so I’ve got them to think about. I’ve got to put food on the table for my kids so I can’t let Bobby stop that”.
“I’m not a quitter, I’d never quit but when I’m in that octagon and the going gets tough, I know now all I’ve got to do is think of my two daughters, Betsy and Margot and I’ll push through anything,” he continued. “When my song comes on, everyone goes wild”.
Still only 23, Mokaev meanwhile still can’t quite believe he is back in the same city where he watched Michael Bisping defend his UFC middleweight title against Dan Henderson almost eight years ago. “I was at UFC 204 in Manchester in 2016,” he told ufc.com. “I was in this hotel, and I came to see Albert Tumenov, who is from the same region where I came from. Now, 100 UFC (pay-per-views) have passed, and I’m here again”.
Now he’s back and ready for Manel Kape, brushing off a scuffle between members of the two teams, including Kape’s coach Nicksick, at the hotel earlier this week. “It’s 1-1 between me and Kape outside the Octagon, and I think this will be the trilogy inside the Octagon,” he said.