Tag: UFC 304

VIDEO: Belal Muhammad reacts to news of long-awaited title shot vs. Leon Edwards at UFC 304

Yes, you heard that correctly, Belal Muhammad will finally get his title shot.

Yes, you heard that correctly, [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] will finally get his title shot.

Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) will run things back with welterweight champion [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) in the UFC 304 main event July 27 in Manchester, England.

It’s been a long wait for Muhammad, who’s undefeated in his past 10 fights. “Remember The Name” has been chomping at the bit to rematch Edwards, after their first fight in March 2021 ended in a no contest. Edwards inadvertently poked Muhammad in the eye, causing him severe damage which rendered him unable to continue.

Five wins later and Muhammad has been awarded his opportunity. Watch him react to the news, which UFC CEO Dana White announced Thursday.

Muhammad was promised a title shot after defeating former title challenger Gilbert Burns at UFC 288 last May, but it took a year for him to get his wish.

He had to watch Edwards defend his welterweight title against Colby Covington at UFC 296, and was almost passed up again when the promotion had plans of booking Edwards last month at UFC 300. When Shavkat Rakhmonov, Islam Makhachev, and Khamzat Chimaev all turned down the opportunity because of Ramadan, Edwards was no longer featured on the historic card.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Tom Aspinall says Ciryl Gane turned down fight for UFC 304, reacts to Curtis Blaydes booking

Tom Aspinall rematches Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304, but it wasn’t the promotion’s Plan A, according to the interim heavyweight champion.

[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] was willing to fight anyone, but when push came to shove, said [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] was the only one who reciprocated those feelings to the UFC.

Since Manchester was revealed as the UFC 304 location, fight fans have expected to see an Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) fight announcement associated with the July 27 card. Thursday, UFC CEO Dana White officially announced the bout, and Aspinall’s opponent, Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC).

“I’m in a bit of a strange conundrum with my division,” Aspinall said in a video posted to his YouTube channel shortly after the announcement. “Usually, when the champ is coming back, the interim would obviously usually fight the champ. Jon Jones is holding sh*t up. Let’s be honest. He’s playing games. So it’s me and Curtis Blaydes.”

While Aspinall did not indicate the UFC ever proposed the Jones bout to him, he revealed Blaydes was not the promotion’s Plan A. According to Aspinall, the UFC told him they wanted to book him against [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag]. Aspinall said he accepted, but Gane (12-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) did not.

“There’s only one more available guy, and that’s Ciryl Gane,” Aspinall said. “The UFC wanted me to fight Ciryl Gane. I said OK. If the UFC wanted me to do it, we can do it. I’m not bothered. I feel like I’m champion of the world. I’m ranked No. 1 in the world. I’ll fight anybody. You don’t have to talk me into anything. UFC are my bosses. They want me to fight Ciryl Gane. Count me in. That’s OK. We’ll do it. Ciryl, on the other hand, he’s out there doing a film. Ciryl is out there trying to be the French Arnold Schwarzenegger right now. And fair play to him. If he wants to do films and be an actor, go ahead and enjoy yourself, Ciryl. Go do your thing. Make some money. Do it however you do it. But he didn’t take the fight. He wanted to do his film.”

Aspinall and Blaydes have met in the cage once. In July 2022, Aspinall suffered a knee injury 15 seconds into a main event showdown with Blaydes in London. The injury knocked him out of action for a year.

“We have history,” Aspinall said. “We’ve fought before, granted it was 15 seconds and not an actual fight. I got injured. Curtis takes a win. Now, it’s time to get a bit of payback, so I’m very, very, very motivated for this one. If I’m not going to fight Jon, which obviously that’s not going to happen right now, this is the ideal situation. I’m very, very happy. I’m very, very motivated for it. I’m going to put absolutely everything into the training camp, absolutely everything into the lifestyle. Yeah, I’m looking forward to it very much.”

“… UFC 304, a rematch with Curtis Blaydes in my hometown of Manchester, it’s going to be fantastic, the 27th of July. Be there.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Bobby Green, Paddy Pimblett set to throw down at UFC 304 in Manchester

After warning Paddy Pimblett that he’d make him “pay dearly” for saying his name, Bobby Green has the chance to show it at UFC 304.

[autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag] warned [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] that he shouldn’t have said his name. Now he’s got a chance to show why.

UFC CEO Dana White announced Thursday that Green and Pimblett will throw down July 27 at UFC 304 (ESPN+ pay-per-view) in Manchester, England.

The booking comes not long after Green’s brutal win over Jim Miller last month at UFC 300. Afterward, Green (32-15-1 MMA, 13-10-1 UFC) put Pimblett (21-3 MMA, 5-0 UFC) on blast.

“(I called him out) because he called me (out). He shouldn’t have said my name,” Green said at the UFC 300 post-fight news conference. “He should have kept it to those other guys. This guy right here will find you. And when I line it up, and I get the sights right, you’re going to pay dearly.”

Green, 37, has won three of his past four fights. His impressive performance against green was a strong rebound after he was finished by Jalin Turner in the first round last December.

As for Pimblett, the 29-year-old British star and former Cage Warriors champion is undefeated in five UFC appearances. Last December, he most recently won a clear unanimous decision against Tony Ferguson, whom Green choked out in the final seconds of the third round of their July 2023 fight at UFC 291.

The UFC 304 lineup includes:

  • Champ Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad – for welterweight title
  • Interim champ Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes – for interim heavyweight title
  • Bobby Green vs. Paddy Pimblett
  • Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev
  • Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze
  • Daniel Pineda vs. Nathaniel Wood
  • Shauna Bannon vs. Ravena Oliveira
  • Bruna Brasil vs. Molly McCann

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes set for UFC 304 co-main event

It’s been a couple months, but Curtis Blaydes got the answer he was hoping for.

It’s been a couple months, but [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] got the answer he was hoping for.

In March, Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) took out Jailton Almeida with a second-round TKO at UFC 299 in Miami. Afterward, he said he wanted a shot at interim heavyweight champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag].

Thursday, UFC CEO Dana White announced Blaydes (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) has what he wants: a rematch with Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) at UFC 304 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+), which is set for July 27 in Manchester, England.

Blaydes and Aspinall first fought in July 2022 in London. Just 15 seconds into the fight, Aspinall blew out his knee and Blaydes had a TKO win without doing anything. After a year away, Aspinall returned and stopped Marcin Tybura in 73 seconds, then needed just 69 seconds to win the interim heavyweight title against Sergei Pavlovich this past November.

After Blaydes beat Almeida, he ruled out fighting someone like Ciryl Gane next and said he wants a path straight to Aspinall for a piece of the heavyweight title.

The Blaydes-Aspinall winner presumably will fight the winner of champion Jon Jones vs. former champ Stipe Miocic – provided that winner does not retire after the fight, which has been the speculation for each of them.

With the co-main event addition, the UFC 304 lineup now includes:

  • Champ Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad – for welterweight title
  • Interim champ Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes – for interim heavyweight title
  • Bobby Green vs. Paddy Pimblett
  • Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev
  • Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze
  • Daniel Pineda vs. Nathaniel Wood
  • Shauna Bannon vs. Ravena Oliveira
  • Bruna Brasil vs. Molly McCann

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

UFC 304 official with Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad headliner and more in Manchester

After an agonizing wait, Belal Muhammad will finally get his opportunity to rematch Leon Edwards for the welterweight title at UFC 304.

After an agonizing wait, [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] will finally get his opportunity to rematch [autotag]Leon Edwards[/autotag] for the UFC welterweight title.

Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) has been endlessly prodding at Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) to assign a date for them to run it back, and it will happen at UFC 304 on July 27 in Manchester, England.

UFC CEO Dana White announced the matchup Thursday on social media. In addition, White announced a co-feature of interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in a rematch with Curtis Blaydes, plus Paddy Pimblett vs. Bobby Green.

Edwards, No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie welterweight rankings, will attempt to make his third consecutive title defense in the bout. He claimed gold in August 2022 with a shocking come-from-behind knockout of Kamaru Usman, then logged his first defense in an immediate rematch.

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“Rocky” defeated Colby Covington by lopsided unanimous decision to retain his belt for a second time at UFC 296 in December. He was rumored to headline UFC 300 in April with Islam Makhachev, Shavkat Rakhmonov and Khamzat Chimaev being fights that were proposed, which resulted in much ire from the deserving top contender.

In the end, however, No. 3-ranked Muhammad gets his chance at gold on the strength of a 10-fight unbeaten streak that includes notables such as Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady, Vicente Luque and Stephen Thompson.

The only blemish on Muhammad’s resume since January 2019 is the no contest in his first encounter with Edwards at UFC Fight Night 187 in March 2021. The fight was halted in the second round when Edwards landed an accidental eye poke, and Muhammad was unable to continue.

Edwards repeatedly has said he thinks he was going to cruise to a victory on that night, while Muhammad argues he was just warming up after accepting the matchup on short notice.

The UFC 304 lineup includes:

  • Champ Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad – for welterweight title
  • Interim champ Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes – for interim heavyweight title
  • Bobby Green vs. Paddy Pimblett
  • Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev
  • Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze
  • Daniel Pineda vs. Nathaniel Wood
  • Shauna Bannon vs. Ravena Oliveira
  • Bruna Brasil vs. Molly McCann

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Top flyweight contenders Manel Kape, Muhammad Mokaev targeted for UFC 304 clash

A high-stakes flyweight showdown between Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev is expected to take place at UFC 304 this summer.

A high-stakes flyweight showdown between [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag] and [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] is expected to take place at UFC 304 this summer.

Mokaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) announced on Wednesday on Instagram that he is set to take on Kape (19-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in what will likely serve as a 125-pound title eliminator on the July 27 event at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

A person with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie that Kape has verbally agreed to the bout. The person requested anonymity because no official UFC announcement has been made.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6uIXR5IiSR

Mokaev, No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie flyweight rankings, is on a six-fight winning streak inside the octagon and is unbeaten throughout his amateur and professional career. He was passed over for a title shot at UFC 301 against Alexandre Pantoja in favor of Steve Erceg, but the 23-year-old could solidify his opportunity at gold with another win.

No. 10-ranked Kape, meanwhile, will bring a four-fight winning streak into UFC 304. He’s struggled to stay active in recent years, though, with a slew of injuries, cancellations, and a weight miss stunting his progress.

The latest UFC 304 lineup now includes:

  • Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev
  • Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze
  • Daniel Pineda vs. Nathaniel Wood

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

UFC 304 adds Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze to Manchester lineup

A big featherweight bout is headed to UFC 304 in Manchester, England.

UFC 304 has added a featherweight contender clash – and a little home-country flavor.

At the July 27 pay-per-view event in Manchester, England’s [autotag]Arnold Allen[/autotag] will battle Georgia’s [autotag]Giga Chikadze[/autotag] in a three-round bout.

Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking Thursday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Super Lutas first listed the promotion was targeting the matchup for England.

Allen (19-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) aims to bounce back from a loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 297 in January. The defeat was his second in as many fights, paired with an April 2023 defeat to Max Holloway. Both losses were unanimous decisions.

Chikadze (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) has only competed once since a January 2022 loss to Calvin Kattar. He defeated Alex Caceres 19 months later, in August 2023. Then scheduled to fight Josh Emmett at UFC 296 in December, Chikadze suffered a groin injury that caused him to withdraw from the fight.

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Tom Aspinall says UFC 304 start time ‘just not fair’ for U.K. fans

Tom Aspinall feels for the U.K. fans that will have to pull an all-nighter to watch UFC 304.

UFC interim heavyweight champion [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] feels for the U.K. fans who will have to pull an all-nighter to attend UFC 304.

The pay-per-view event will take place July 27 in the newly built Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England. The prelims will start at 6 p.m. ET (11 p.m. BST) and the main card at 10 p.m. ET (3 a.m. BST) on ESPN+ pay-per-view, following the traditional start times for U.S. pay-per-views.

While Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) doesn’t mind fighting in the middle of the night, he can see how it’ll be less than ideal for the fans in attendance.

“As an athlete, as a fighter, in all honesty it doesn’t make that much difference,” Aspinall said on his YouTube channel. “Probably for a couple of weeks before I’ll have to wake up and train at that time or stay up or whatever. I’ve flown across the world multiple times and fought in different time zones. So, it’s not as bad as that. As a fan who wants to watch it live, I think it is absolutely terrible. It’s just not fair on the fans, not fair on the U.K. fans.

“Predominantly it’s an American audience, so I understand that they want to sell to them. But why can’t they sell to them in the afternoon, which is our evening time? Why can’t the Americans watch it in the afternoon and the U.K. fans, the Manchester fans, the European fans can all fly to the event and sell out this new arena. I mean, it’s going to sell out regardless. We’re very, very, very lucky to have a pay-per-view in Manchester. Very lucky, but U.K. MMA, let’s put it on U.K. time.”

Aspinall is expected to compete on the card but is yet to have a fight officially booked. He expressed interest in running things back with Curtis Blaydes, who handed him the lone loss of his career. Aspinall injured his knee 18 seconds into his July 2022 headliner vs. Blaydes in London.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

Why Chael Sonnen thinks Tom Aspinall potentially facing Ciryl Gane at UFC 304 is a big risk

Chael Sonnen doesn’t want to see Tom Aspinall vs. Ciryl Gane next.

[autotag]Chael Sonnen[/autotag] doesn’t want to see [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ciryl Gane[/autotag] next.

Interim heavyweight champion Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) confirmed that he’ll be fighting at UFC 304, which will take place July 27 in the newly built Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England.

Aspinall dismissed Gane as a potential opponent after Gane refused to acknowledge his presence this past September in Paris. Aspinall watched Gane finish Serghei Spivac, but didn’t get his desired face-off. Gane hasn’t competed since, but Aspinall wound up facing Sergei Pavlovich for the interim title at UFC 295, and knocked him out to claim the belt. Now Aspinall is making Gane wait his turn.

Cormier likes Aspinall vs. Gane (12-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) next, but Sonnen sees a big problem with that fight.

“I believe that the problem is if you do bring Ciryl back, if he wins, you put a belt around Ciryl,” Sonnen said on his ESPN show “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Daniel Cormier. “If Jon Jones is agreeable, you’re going to do a rematch between Jon Jones and Ciryl.

“I think that’s too tough after the performance that Ciryl gave (at UFC 285), or did not give. I just don’t think there’s any scenario where they re-do that match, and you would run into a big risk if you put the belt around him.”

Aspinall wants to run things back with Blaydes. Blaydes handed Aspinall his only octagon loss when Aspinall blew out his knee just 18 seconds into their fight in July 2022. Blaydes is coming off an impressive knockout of Jailton Almeida at UFC 299 – snapping the Brazilian contender’s 15-fight winning streak.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.

UFC returns to Manchester for UFC 304 on July 27

The UFC will make its return to the U.K. this year in a big way.

The UFC will make its return to the U.K. this year in a big way.

UFC 304 will take place July 27 in the newly built Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England, promotion officials announced Wednesday morning.

The prelims will start at 6 p.m. ET (11 p.m. BST), and the main card at 10 p.m. ET (3 a.m. BST) on ESPN+ pay-per-view, following the traditional start times for U.S. pay-per-views.

UFC 304 marks the promotion’s first show in Manchester since UFC 204 in October 2016, when former middleweight champion Michael Bisping avenged his loss to Dan Henderson to defend his title in an all-out war.

No fights have been officially announced for the event, but UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards’ coach, Dave Lovell, is expecting a rematch with Belal Muhammad in the main event. UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall also hinted that he will be on the card.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.