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Off the back of his stunning first round knockout win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 overnight to successfully defend his interim heavyweight crown, fans, pundits, and fellow fighters have campaigned for Tom Aspinall to replace Stipe Miocic in a return at UFC 309 later this year against fellow gold holder, Jon Jones.

Aspinall, who returned to his native Manchester overnight at the Co-op Live Arena, managed to successfully defend his interim heavyweight crown in spectacular fashion – taking on perennial challenger, Blaydes in a title rematch.

And avenging his 2022 loss to Blaydes, Aspinall laid out the veteran contender inside just a minute – courtesy of a gutsy overhand right strike, sending the former to the canvas before swarming with ground strikes for a technical knockout stoppage.

Welcoming the chance to take on Rochester veteran, Jones next in a title unification matchup, Aspinall has received backing from a host of fighters – including promotional alum, Derek Brunson to “replace” Ohio veteran, Miocic and compete at Madison Square Garden again this year.

“Jon Jones v. Tom Aspinall is a must, scrap the Stipe fight! I speak for everyone,” Derek Brunson posted on his official X account.

Tom Aspinall calls for title fight with Jon Jones next

Sharing his thoughts on the state of affairs at heavyweight, Aspinall claimed Jones was likely praying to the mixed martial arts Gods for a Blaydes victory in the United Kingdom.

“Jon’s (Jones) the undisputed champion, but I’m the best in the world, if that makes any sense,” Tom Aspinall told assembled media after UFC 304. “We know what Jon’s doing, Jon was there, crossing how fingers and toes tonight hoping I’d lose to Curtis (Blaydes).”

“Let’s not bullsh*t about it – he posted about it loads anyway that I’m going to lose to him,” Tom Aspinall explained. “That didn’t happen, so that’s the fight I want next.”

Who do you think wins in a future title fight: Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall?

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Forever linked with a title unification fight with Tom Aspinall – Jon Jones only drew further links to a showdown with the heavyweight star next, sharing his reaction to the Brit’s huge knockout win over Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304 overnight.

Aspinall, the current interim titleholder at the heavyweight limit, returned to action overnight in his native Manchester, landing a stunning opening round knockout win over Blaydes just a minute into the opening round of their rematch fight.

And expected to serve as a backup fighter to Jones’ return against former two-time heavyweight gold holder, Stipe Miocic later this year at UFC 309 – Aspinall boldly claimed the Rochester veteran was hoping for his demise overnight at the Co-op Live Arena.

“Jon’s (Jones) the undisputed champion, but I’m the best in the world, if that makes any sense,” Tom Aspinall told assembled media after UFC 304. “We know what Jon’s doing, Jon was there, crossing how fingers and toes tonight hoping I’d lose to Curtis (Blaydes).”

“Let’s not bullsh*t about it – he posted about it loads anyway that I’m going to lose to him,” Tom Aspinall explained. “That didn’t happen, so that’s the fight I want next.”

Jon Jones offers cryptic reaction to Tom Aspinall’s win at UFC 304

And sharing his reaction to the Atherton native’s win at UFC 304, Jones – albeit cryptically appeared to welcome the chance to take on the interim champion in the near future.

“Supply and demand at its finest,” Jon Jones posted on his official X account. “I love it.”

Expected to return later this year in November, former pound-for-pound number one, Jones has been heavily tied to a battle with the above-mentioned, Miocic in the main event of UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden. 

Who wins in a future title fight: Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall?

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Off the back of her stunning submission win over ex-champion, Holly Holm in her promotional debut at UFC 300 earlier this year, Kayla Harrison is reportedly lined up to make her sophomore outing inside the Octagon.

Harrison, a former two-time PFL lightweight tournament winner and two-time Olympic gold medal winner, is reportedly targeted to make her return to action at UFC 307 at the beginning of October, taking on Brazilian contender, Ketlen Vieira in a bantamweight title eliminator in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Kayla Harrison targeted to fight Ketlen Vieira at UFC 307

News of Ohio native Kayla Harrison’s targeted matchup against Ketlen Vieira was first reported by Super Lutas reporter, Leo Guimaraes. 

“Ketlen Vieira vs. Kayla Harrison in the works,” Guimaraes posted on X. “It is expected to be on October 5th. UFC 307.”

As for Vieira, the Manaus native currently holds the number two rank in the bantamweight division – most recently featuring one year ago at UFC Fight Night London.

Returning to winning ways, Vieira landed a unanimous decision win over Pannie Kianzad, after previously dropping a split decision loss to incumbent bantamweight champion, Raquel Pennington. 

Prior to her loss to TUF veteran, Pennington, the hotly-tipped Vieira turned in back-to-back wins over both former undisputed bantamweight champions, Holly Holm, and Miesha Tate.

UFC 307 takes place on October 5. from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah – with an undisputed featherweight championship fight between Ilia Topuria, and Max Holloway expected to take main event honors.

Furthermore, an undisputed bantamweight title fight between the above-mentioned, Pennington, and former gold holder, Julianna Pena is targeted for the same card.

Who wins at UFC 307: Kayla Harrison or Ketlen Vieira?

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An undisputed flyweight championship fight between the incumbent gold holder, Alexa Grasso, and former dominant titleholder, Valentina Shevchenko is officially slated to take co-headlining honors at UFC 306 on September 14. from The Las Vegas Sphere in Nevada later this annum.

Grasso, the current undisputed flyweight champion, will share the Octagon with Shevchenko for the third time consecutively, following a prior Noche UFC headliner back in September of last year, with the duo fighting to a controversial split decision draw.

Alexa Grasso set to fight Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 306

FIrst matching back in March of last year in the co-main event of UFC 285, Jalisco native, Alexa Grasso turned in a stunning upset win over dominant gold holder, Shevchenko, snatching the flyweight championship with a shocking fourth round face crank submission win. 

And overnight, promotional CEO, Dana White confirmed how The Ultimate Fighter 32 rivals, Grasso and Shevchenko will share the Octagon in a trilogy fight at Noche UFC in two months time – with the flyweight crown once more up for grabs.

Along with the inclusion of a flyweight title fight, Noche UFC will feature an undisputed bantamweight championship pairing of Montana striker, Sean O’Malley – who looks to rack up his second successful title defense in a pairing with the surging Georgian force, Merab Dvalishvili.

Furthermore, also landing on the main card following the rescheduling of a pairing between Michel Pereira, and Anthony Hernandez – former featherweight championship challenger, Brian Ortega has been booked once more to take on Diego Lopes – following their failed pairing at UFC 303 last month. 

During her run as undisputed flyweight champion, Kyrgyzstan native, Shevchenko turned in a record-setting reign at 125lbs, successfully defending the title on seven separate occasions.

Following a vacant championship win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Shevchenko turned in wins over Jessica Eye, Liz Carmouche, Katlyn Cerminara, Jennifer Maia, Jessica Andrade, Lauren Murphy, and Taila Santos. 

Who wins in their trilogy fight: Alexa Grasso or Valentina Shevchenko?

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Sean Strickland may have taken things a little too far in his rivalry with UFC 304 headliner Belal Muhammad.

Crossing the line is pretty much Strickland’s official brand at this point, but fight fans weren’t exactly thrilled with his latest dig at Muhammad on social media.

“Belal looks like why I have to take my shoes off in airports…..” Strickland commented on Instagram.

While ‘Remember The Name’ hasn’t responded to the ill-advised comment, Strickland drew the ire of users on both Instagram and X, many of them condemning the “disgusting” statement.

“Sean Strickland implying Belal Muhammad is a terrorist simply because he’s Muslim. Disgusting & despicable behavior but I wouldn’t expect any less & you know a large swath of the MMA community will cheerlead this behavior,” one user wrote.

Another noted how Strickland had nothing to say about another Muslim fighter—Islam Makhachev—while sitting next to him during the UFC 302 press conference in June.

“It’s funny how Sean didn’t [say] anything like that when he was sitting next to Islam at the press conference. He went backstage and said it in one-on-one interviews.”

Sean Strickland and Belal Muhammad trade barbs following UFC P.I. encounter in 2023

Strickland and Muhammad have taken jabs back and forth over the years, but things seemed to escalate last year when ‘Tarzan’ shared a video online that featured Muhammad training in the background. Strickland labeled the top-ranked welterweight ‘thunder thumbs’ in the clip, which you can see below:

Unenthused by Strickland’s antics, Belal Muhammad issued a response shortly after, telling the former middleweight champ that he’s simply “not that guy.”

“This guy’s trying to act tough again on social media. Looking for clout chasing, trying to get views for a podcast,” Muhammad said. “I offered to fight you. You turned it down. You putting out this video of you recording from a distance, muttering under your breath, thunder thumbs, which is not even clever. Your racist hillbilly fans are saying ‘Oh man you’re a beast’, ‘you’re a man’, look how crazy he is.

“But look at the distance. It’s like someone recording a lion in the wild. You stay at a safe distance. You don’t get into the danger zone. You didn’t get into the danger zone. Just stop this. You’re not that guy. You’re more of like an emo Peewee Herman.”

Strickland snapped back, welcoming a fight with Muhammad anytime, anywhere.

“Man, you guys believe this f*cking clown? Lmao ok p*ssy tomorrow 11am,” he wrote. “Gloves, no gloves idc….”

As far as we know, that encounter never happened, but if Belal Muhammad manages to defeat Leon Edwards for the welterweight title in Manchester, perhaps we’ll see Strickland move up and try to settle things with ‘Bully B’ inside the Octagon.

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After banking his 10th career win in boxing, Jake Paul wants to test out his skills in the world of MMA.

In January 2023, ‘The Problem Child’ signed a deal with the Professional Fighters League to help the promotion launch its anticipated Super Fight series on pay-per-view. Since then, it’s been pretty much radio silent regarding Paul’s PFL debut, but it looks like the YouTube star may have finally found a dance partner for his big premiere in the Smart Cage.

Taking to social media following his sixth-round TKO against the BKFC’s undisputed ‘King of Violence’ Mike Perry in Tampa, Jake Paul revealed that the two have already agreed to run it back under the PFL banner “when the time is right.”

“Chopped it up with Mike Perry last night. What a stand up dude. More confidence than most of these fighters. We agreed to run it in PFL when the time is right,” Paul wrote on X.”

Asked about running it back with Perry in bare-knuckle, Paul made it clear that if he’s going to temporarily leave boxing behind, it’ll be for MMA, though he did leave the door open for a fight with ‘Platinum’ in the BKFC star’s new Dirty Boxing Championship promotion.

“If I’m stepping out of boxing, it’s going to be PFL,” Paul added. After that we can do Dirty Boxing.

Mike Perry Launches New Dirty Boxing Promotion

According to Perry, Dirty Boxing Championship will feature hybrid rules bouts that mix the striking of boxing with five-ounce gloves and limited ground-and-pound. Elbows and open-palm strikes will also be allowed according to Perry.

“This promotion has been in the works for over a year, and we started this because of my success in bare-knuckle,” Perry said at a press event. “I feel there that are many great fighters and athletes out there that would like to compete in something like this but don’t exactly want to compete in bare-knuckle and take the gloves off. There are a couple names that come to mind” (h/t MMA Fighting).

DBC bouts will be held in a smaller 18-foot ring and feature three three-minute rounds, with five rounds for championship fights.

Weigh classes are expected to mirror MMA’s traditional divisions with a launch date being targeted for September or October, though no official broadcast deal has been announced.

“I think this rule set is going to be the most exciting thing for the casual fan base that’s been put together,” said Josh McLean of Kanpai Media.

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Watch UFC 304 Weigh-Ins

The UFC 304 weigh-ins show will begin at 9:50am ET / 6:50am PT, with the ceremonial UFC 304 show booked for 2pm ET / 11am PT, all on Friday July 26.

Watch the UFC 304 weigh ins live right here, to be featuring Leon Edwards, Tom Aspinall, Curtis Blaydes, Bobby King Green, Paddy Pimblett, Muhammad Mokaev, Manel Kape, Arnold Allen, Giga Chikadze and Belal Muhammad, among others.

The UFC 304 event is going down live from Machester, England scheduled for this Saturday night. For more live coverage keep it locked to Low Kick MMA. Also, see interviews with Paddy Pimblett. Plus, our watch guide, on how to watch the event in your specific country and timezone.

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The winner of Saturday’s interim heavyweight title clash between reigning champion Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes will move on to face the winner of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic.

That comes according to Dana White who offered a one-word response when asked what comes next for the victor in UFC 304’s co-main event.

“Absolutely,” White said at the UFC 304 press conference when asked point-blank if the winner of Aspinall vs. Blaydes would fight either ‘Bones’ or Miocic next.

As great as that sounds, it’s not quite that simple. Ever since he won the undisputed heavyweight title at UFC 285, Jon Jones has routinely teased retirement once his bout with Miocic is in the books. And even if Miocic pulls off the upset, it’s hard to imagine the consensus heavyweight GOAT — who will be 42 by the time he actually fights Jones — would stick around to fight either Aspinall or Blaydes.

That’s probably why Blaydes has been running around touting his title tilt with Aspinall as being for the “real” heavyweight crown.

Tom Aspinall thinks His UFC 304 fight with ‘Razor’ will be a tougher test than what Jon Jones brings to the table

After dispatching Sergei Pavlovich in 69 seconds to claim the interim belt last November, Tom Aspinall lobbied hard for a unification fight with Jon Jones.

Failing to bait the two-division titleholder into a scrap, the Salford, England native opted to move on to Blaydes, a man he believes presents a much tougher test than a past-his-prime ‘Bones.’

“Because Curtis Blaydes is a well-established heavyweight and I’m not discrediting Jon at all, the guy’s unreal—well I might be discrediting him a bit—but as a heavyweight, Curtis Blaydes has proven multiple times that he’s elite,” Aspinall told Sky Sports.

“And he’s in his prime, Jon Jones isn’t. I think Blaydes is a tougher fight” (h/t Bloody Elbow).

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All the fights for the Super Rizin 3, Manny Pacquiao vs Rukiya Anpo card on Sunday, July 28th, 2024. With betting odds, start time, date, fight card, and information on how to watch.

• Event: Super Rizin 3 (Manny Pacquiao vs Rukiya Anpo)
• Date: Sun, Jul 28, 2024
• Location: Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan
• Broadcast: RIZIN PPV

Super Rizin 3: Full Fight Card

• Mikuru Asakura vs. Ren Hiramoto (MMA)
• Hiromasa Ougikubo vs. Makoto Shinryu (MMA)
• Yutaka Saito vs. Yuta Kubo (MMA)
• Ryusei Ashizawa vs. Koji Tanaka (MMA)
• Hiroaki Suzuki vs. Ren Sugiyama (MMA)
• John Dodson vs. Takaki Soya (Bareknuckle)
• Tai Emery vs. Charisa Sigala (Bareknuckle)
• Hideo Tokoro vs. Hiroya Kondo (MMA)
• Rena Kubota vs. Kate Oyama (MMA)
• Suguru Nii vs. Kazumasa Majima (MMA)
• Manny Pacquiao vs. Rukiya Anpo (Boxing)

*Fight card, bout order, and number of fights are subject to change

Tale of the Tape

Start date and time

Manny Pacquiao vs Rukiya Anpo takes place on July 28th at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan The Prelims will be at 12 a.m. ET (5 a.m. UK time) with the ring walks for Pacquiao vs. Anpo scheduled for 5 a.m. ET (10 a.m. UK time).

Betting Odds

• Rukiya Anpo: (+300)
• Manny Pacquiao: (-400)

Tickets

If you are lucky enough to be nearby or in Japan or have plans to be there on the 28th of July at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan to see Manny Pacquiao vs Rukiya Anpo, tickets will be available here.

Manny Pacquiao vs Rukiya Anpo Promo Trailer

PPV price and Live streams

Manny Pacquiao vs Rukiya Anpo will be live on RIZIN PPV

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Sharing the stage today at the Co-op Live Arena ahead of a massive welterweight title fight rematch with Belal Muhammad this weekend at UFC 304, incumbent gold holder, Leon Edwards failed in a bid to psych out the challenger, lunging at him before being restrained by security officials.

Edwards, the incumbent undisputed welterweight champion, headlines this weekend’s UFC 304 card against the above-mentioned Illinois contender, Muhammad, in a bid to rack up his third consecutive successful title defense. 

First fighting back in 2020 in the pair’s high-stakes main event bout at the UFC Apex facility, Edwards landed multiple eye pokes en route to an eventual second round stoppage against Muhammad – resulting in an official ‘No Contest’.

And sharing the stage this weekend ahead of their UFC 304 title fight re-run in Manchester, Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad – who shared a tense encounter inside an elevator in the ‘Rainy City’ earlier this week, 

Accusing Muhammad of becoming too reactive and emotionally invested in their title rematch this weekend, Edwards would be unconscious within just three rounds in Manchester according to the title challenger – who urged the crowd to wake him up with their chanting once he knocks him out. 

Leon Edwards lunges at Belal Muhammad in tense UFC 304 presser

Sharing the stage with UFC CEO, Dana White for a tense face-off – Muhammad imitated Edwards’ infamous ‘headshot dead’ taunt, before the latter lunged at the title challenger – to no avail in a bid to make him react, with security officials and UFC personnel immediately corralling the duo. 

Hitting out at Edwards’ entourage on stage as the above-mentioned organizational leader, White attempted to play peacekeeper, Muhammad made his way off stage ahead of a massive, and now-bad-blooded title affair this weekend in the promotion’s return to the United Kingdom in a pay-per-view setting for the first time since 2016. 

Who wins this weekend at UFC 304: Leon Edwards or Belal Muhammad?

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