UFC 304 featured two title fight rematches at the top of the bill as UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad shocked the world with his upset over Leon Edwards. The event took place on July 27, inside the Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
UFC 304’s main event featured an upset victory on home soil for the heated rematch between UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards (22-4-0, 1NC) and top-ranked contender No. 2-ranked Belal Muhammad (24-3-0, 1NC).
UFC 304 Main Event: Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad 2
Muhammad came into this UFC 304 matchup as a reasonably large betting underdog. However, these odds only seemed to fuel the Chicago native’s fire, as he delivered one of his best performances in this title opportunity.
The reigning champion, Edwards, was forced to fight backward from the opening round. Still, Muhammad implemented an impressive game plan consisting of takedowns and simple boxing work on the feet.
There were a few decently close striking exchanges between the two; however, Muhammad landed the more effective strikes early on.
This simple boxing approach mixed with double-leg takedowns made for the perfect approach to throw Edwards off his game.
The challenger was able to bank the first two rounds of the fight using his jab, uppercut, and persistent takedowns on the champion. Both rounds were close in the striking department, but Muhammad’s takedowns were the difference maker.
Edwards responded to these early woes by winning the third round by outstriking the challenger and successfully securing a takedown of his own. He then proceeded to control Muhammad for the majority of the round.
Edwards would go on to convincingly lose the fourth round by being outworked and hustled by the challenger, outstruck, and out grappled and controlled for the round.
The fifth and final round played out with Muhammad controlling Edwards for most of the round until late efforts saw the champion reverse position on the ground and proceed to rain vicious elbows on an exhausted Muhammad. These elbows stole the round for Edwards, but it was too late, as the challenger had already banked three rounds on the scorecards.
Now positioned at the top, Muhammad has plenty of future options at welterweight. Young phenoms like Shavkat Rakhmanov, Jack Della Maddalena, and Ian Machado Garry are the first to come to mind.
Result: Muhammad via Decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
UFC 304 Co-main Event: Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes
The Juggernaut of British MMA UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall (15-3-0) continued his dominance inside the sport at UFC 304 by delivering a brief stoppage win over top contender No. 4-ranked Curtis Blaydes (18-5-0, 1NC).
There is not too much to recap in this interim heavyweight title fight rematch, as Aspinall once again showed why many fight pundits believe he is the most dangerous man in mixed martial arts.
The defending interim champion came into this fight riding back-to-back first-round finishes over Sergei Pavlovich and Marcin Tybura.
He continued this phenomenon on Saturday with a TKO stoppage over Blaydes at precisely the one-minute mark of the opening round.
The two heavyweights met in the middle of the cage and began trading explosive punches until Aspinall found the home for a nudging right hand that sent Blaydes crashing backward on the canvas. From there, Aspinall smothered Blaydes with ground-and-pound punches until referee Marc Goddard stepped in to call the fight.
That said, there is only one name in the heavyweight division that makes sense for the young star, and that name is none other than Jon Jones, the reigning undisputed UFC heavyweight champion and former light heavyweight champion.
Result: Aspinall via KO/TKO R1
Click here to watch UFC Hall of Famer, former UFC light heavyweight and middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen gave his reaction to Aspinall’s impressive win at UFC 304 via ‘Chael Sonnen’ on YouTube.
Bobby Green vs. Paddy Pimblett
Liverpool’s golden boy, UFC lightweight superstar Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett (22-3-0) undoubtedly rose to the occasion at UFC 304 by delivering his most impressive performance in his entire career against the dangerous veteran No. 15-ranked Bobby Green (32-16-1, 1NC).
Pimblett silenced the critics at UFC 304 by becoming the only man to ever submit Green inside the UFC through all his years with the company.
The fight opened with the two men taking the center of the cage. The two began jockeying for the striking distance from here using jabs and leg kicks. Pimblett showcased a few sharp, thudding low-kicks that visibly annoyed Green on the feet.
It didn’t take long for Pimblett’s leg kicks to set in, and Green eventually shot a sloppy takedown entry. This telegraphed takedown attempt would be Green’s undoing as Pimblett slickly maneuvered several submission threats on the mat.
Alternating between Triangle Chokes and Armbars, Pimblett showed why he is so dangerous in the grappling department. It did not take long before he finally secured a tight triangle choke on Green and forced him to go unconscious.
Result: Pimblett via Submission R1
Muhammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape
For all the hype and buildup this heated flyweight matchup had leading up to UFC 304, the two fighters Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape failed to live up to the expectations of the fans.
UFC 304’s most heated matchup featured UFC flyweights Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape finally settled their outside of the cage beef, this time inside a UFC cage. The two men competed in what many have deemed to be an extremely lackluster fight, especially considering the antics leading up to it.
That said, Mokaev managed to fight his best fight possible at UFC 304 as he showcased slick striking skills against the formidable striker in Kape.
Mokaev won the first-round simply off of activity as Kape managed to neutralize the takedown threat. The following round was closely contested, but Kape edged it with the cleaner and more effective strikes.
With the fight tied going into the third and final round, Mokaev lapped Kape in strikes landed and managed to secured two separate takedowns, where he accumulated around two minutes of control time.
This last-ditch effort ultimately gave Mokaev the edge on the judges’ scorecards and kept the 23-year-old’s impressive undefeated record in-tact.
Result: Mokaev via Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Unfortunately, the most entertaining aspect of Mokaev’s UFC 304 fight week happened after his victory as a frustrated Dana White voiced the state of Mokaev’s relationship and contractual status with the company.
White announced that Mokaev is a free-agent and that the UFC does not intend on re-signing the 23-year-old undefeated No. 6-ranked flyweight.
Other Fights on UFC 304
Main Card:
- (185 lbs.) Christian Leroy Duncan (11-1-0) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (16-5-0): Rodrigues via Decision
- (145 lbs.) Arnold Allen (20-3-0) vs. Giga Chikadze (15-4-0): Allen via Decision
Prelims:
- (145 lbs.) Nathaniel Wood vs. Daniel Pineda (28-15-0, 3NC): Wood via Decision
- (W 115 lbs.) Molly McCann (14-6-0) vs. Bruna Brasil (9-4-1): McCann via TKO/KO R2
- (135 lbs.) Jake Hadley (10-3-0) vs. Caolan Loughran (9-1-0): Loughran via Decision
- (205 lbs.) Modestas Bukauskas (15-6-0) vs. Marcin Prachnio (17-7-0): Bukauskas via Decision
Early Prelims:
- (170 lbs.) Oban Elliott (10-2-0) vs. Preston Parsons (11-4-0): Parsons via Decision
- (170 lbs.) Sam Patterson (11-2-1) vs. Kiefer Crosbie (10-4-0): Patterson via Submission R2
- (265 lbs.) Mick Parkin (9-0-0) vs. Lukasz Brzeski (9-4-1, 1NC): Parkin via Decision
- (W 115 lbs.) Shauna Bannon (5-1-0) vs. Alice Ardelean (9-5-0): Bannon via Decision
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