UFC 304 will function two title fights on the Co-op Dwell in Manchester England this Saturday. Welterweight king Leon Edwards will look to defend his title in opposition to Belal Muhammad after their first battle, not for a title, resulted in a no contest on account of Edwards poking Muhammad within the eye.
Tom Aspinall will look to defend his interim heavyweight title in opposition to Curtis Blaydes within the co-main occasion.
Rounding out the primary card is Paddy Pimblett vs. King Inexperienced at light-weight; Christian Leeroy Duncan vs. Gregory Rodrigues at middleweight, and Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze at featherweight.
Try the robust fights on the undercard as effectively, that includes undefeated prospects, savvy veterans and hometown favorites.
Nathaniel Wooden vs. Daniel Pineda
Veterans Wooden and Pineda are set to throw down within the featured prelim of UFC 304. England’s Wooden is trying to get again within the win column after his three-fight successful streak was snapped by Muhammad Naimov. “The Prospect,” now 30, has put a strong UFC resume collectively, going 7-3, although he’s on the lookout for the large win that can catapult him into top-15 rivalry. He must get by Pineda to do it.
Pineda has 43 skilled fights in a profession that started in 2007. The 38-year-old has wins over Tucker Lutz, Herbert Burns and Pat Schilling.
Wooden’s resume contains wins over Andre Fili, Charles Jourdain, John Castaneda, Charles Rosa and Andre Ewell. A formidable win in entrance of his residence crowd over Pineda might get him the pop he wants for a giant name out in a crowded featherweight division.
Molly McCann vs. Bruna Brasil
McCann has turn into a fan favourite in England. The sparkplug made good on her strawweight debut by submitting Diana Belbita with an armbar with one second left within the first spherical of their battle. Whereas McCann discovered success at flyweight (wins over Belbita, Ariane Lipski, Priscila Cachoeira, Luana Carolina, Hannah Goldy and Ji Yeon Kim), grapplers bigger than her gave her hassle. Dropping all the way down to strawweight might mitigate a few of these issues.
Brasil is 1-2 within the UFC after a head-kick knockout of Marnic Mann on the Contender Sequence. Her win was a call over Shauna Bannon.
“Meatball” could have the group on her facet in opposition to the Brazilian as she seems for one more end.
Modestas Bukauskas vs. Marcin Prachino
Bukauskas had his four-fight successful streak snapped in his final bout in opposition to Vitor Petrino. He’ll look to get again into the win column over Prachino.
Bukauskas was 2-0 in his second UFC stint earlier than the Prachino loss, having crushed Tyson Pedro and Zac Pauga. Prachino is 2-2 in his final 4 with wins over Devin Clark and William Knight in that span. His UFC resume additionally features a win over the surging Khalil Rountree Jr.
Bukauskas and Prachino have a mixed 16 Octagon appearances between them, so followers are getting a high-level mild heavyweight contest. The winner might discover himself one or two extra wins away from a top-15 opponent.
Muhammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape
Buried on the UFC 304 prelims is a potential flyweight title eliminator – maybe unjustly so. Mokaev, ranked No. 6, and Kape, ranked No. 8, are vying for a potential crack at Alexandre Pantoja‘s 125-pound title. Pantoja has championship wins excessive two contenders, in addition to No. 9. He has a win over Alex Perez, ranked No. 7.
Whereas Pantoja has crushed Kape, Kape has 4 wins in a row. Mokaev is 11-0 as knowledgeable and 6-0 within the UFC with wins over Perez and Tim Elliott. Kape could be one other huge identify so as to add to his record.
It’s not assured that the bout is a title eliminator, as Amir Albazi is 5-0 within the UFC however hasn’t fought since he beat Kai Kara-France in June 2023, whereas Kara-France is ready to battle for the primary time since then with a bout upcoming in opposition to Steve Erceg. And Brandon Royval remains to be in want of an opponent after his cut up choice win over former champion Brandon Moreno. Royval had misplaced to Pantoja simply earlier than that, nonetheless.
Mokaev vs. Kape’s title aspirations might hinge on how quickly Pantoja desires to return to the Octagon after his grueling Might win over Erceg.
Stylistically, Mokaev vs. Kape is grappler vs. striker, which is all the time attention-grabbing. Mokaev might want to impose his will on Kape to win, whereas Kape seemingly must hold it standing and use his energy to turn into the primary man to beat Mokaev. It’s an important bout for each males.
Mick Parkin vs. Lukasz Brzeski
Parkin enters the battle an ideal 9-0 as knowledgeable and 3-0 within the UFC. Brzeski will look to halt the heavyweight prospect’s momentum and hand him his first loss.
Parkin earned unanimous choices over Mohammed Usman, Caio Machado and Jamal Pogues in his UFC profession. Brzeski snapped an 0-3 stretch with a unanimous choice win over Valter Walker in his final outing. Walker entered undefeated at 11-0, and Brzeski will look to assert a second man’s ‘0’ in as many fights.
A win over Brzeski could be a giant assertion for Parkin, particularly given Brzeski’s win over Walker. Particularly in a division needing new prospects.
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