UFC 304 featured some exhilarating fights, including two championship battles [Belal Muhammad vs Tom Aspinall] and other entertaining fights. The event took place in Manchester, England, on Saturday night and had fans on the edge of their seats.
Champion Leon Edwards battled challenger Belal Muhammad in the main event. The battle was their rematch bout after their first meeting in 2021 ended in a no-contest. The two fighters have done well in their career since their rematch, with Belal winning five straight bouts and Edwards winning four consecutive fights. Muhammad had big plans of silencing doubters when he took to the cage.
The fighter is well known for his grappling skills, and he used them to wrestle Edwards to the ground. He attempted to wring out a submission, but Edwards always seemed ahead and maintained a tough defence. Muhammad remained on the attack throughout the five-round bout and scored nine takedowns that slowly started wearing Edwards down. The champion tried to land some strikes, but Muhammad remained one step ahead until the fight ended with a unanimous decision win for Belal Muhammad.
Next on the co-main event, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall put his belt on the like to face Curtis Blaydes. The two previously faced off in 2022, with Blaydes winning after Aspinall sustained a knee injury. This time, Aspinall did not back down. Blaydes came in with a heavy right hand and a one-two combo, but Aspinall responded with a jab and followed with some heavy-handed punches that caught Blaydes off guard. He continued to pepper his opponent with an onslaught of strikes that dropped ‘Razor’ in the first round of the fight, leading to a first-round knockout.
Another notable fight was the battle between Paddy Pimblett and King Green. Pimblett came in hot in the early round and managed a takedown. He soon had an opponent in a triangle choke that ended the match, earning him an eight-straight win.
Main Card
Belal defeated Leon Edwards via unanimous decision.
Tom Aspinall defeated Curtis Blaydes via first-round TKO
Paddy Pimblett defeated King Green via round one submission.
Gregory Rodrigues defeated Christain Leroy Duncan via unanimous decision.
Arnold Allen defeated Giga Chikadze by unanimous decision.
Preliminary Card
Nathaniel Wood defeated Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision.
Bruna Brasil defeated Molly McCann via unanimous decision.
Jake Hadley defeated Caolan Loughran via unanimous decision.
Muhammad Mokaev defeated Manel Kape via unanimous decision.
Oban Elliott defeated Preston Parson via unanimous decision.
Modestas Bukauskas defeated Marcin Prachnio via round three submission.
Sam Patterson defeated Kiefer Crosbie via round one submission.
Mick Parkin defeated Lukasz Brzeski via first-round knockout.
Shauna Bannon defeated Alice Ardelean via split decision.
