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Well, this is (still) odd …

UFC 304 goes down this weekend (Sat., July 27, 2024) from inside Co-op Live in Manchester, England, and is headlined by two big title fights. UFC Welterweight champion, Leon Edwards, defends his title for the third time as he takes on No. 2-ranked Belal Muhammad. In the pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, interim Heavyweight champion, Tom Aspinall, defends against Curtis Blaydes.

Buried on the “Prelims” is a clear No. 1 contender fight for the next Flyweight title as No. 6-seeded Muhammad Mokaev takes on No. 8-ranked Manel Kape. As of last week, Mokaev vs. Kape was scheduled to take place on UFC 304’s PPV main card; however, the pivotal 125-pound clash was demoted earlier this week.

And it might be because of this … or this.

“I think they don’t like my style,” Mokaev told MMA on SiriusXM. “But, that’s why I have something I have to prove this fight. I need to show everything. Sometimes, I try to play safe, but it looks boring to the casual [fan]. I’m undefeated and I’ve won by unanimous decision against all the prime guys in the UFC.

“They have to understand this,” he finished.

In the same interview, Mokaev revealed that he is on the last fight of his UFC contract and hopes to renegotiate after UFC 304.

He’s not doing himself any favors.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 304 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 304: “Edwards vs. Belal 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.

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Before Manel Kape was one of the top contenders in the UFC flyweight division, he was a RIZIN champion and one of the faces of the Japan-based promotion.

Kape won his title in a 2019 rematch against vaunted striker Kai Asakura after falling to him by split decision just a year and a half prior, as both fighters established themselves among the best lighter-weight talents in the world. Now Asakura has joined Kape on the UFC roster, inking a deal to join the promotion following an impressive 21-4 record to start a career that includes wins over former Bellator champions Juan Archuleta and Kyoji Horiguchi.

“He’s going to do great,” Kape said of Asakura when speaking to MMA Fighting. “I think he’s just going to bring more excitement to this division, what this division needs, a young prospect. He’s a brilliant fighter.”

Because they split a pair of RIZIN fights, Kape likes knowing Asakura is coming to UFC, because that could potentially set up a rubber match between them in the future.

Perhaps even more importantly, Kape believes it would be a great opportunity for UFC to finally return to Japan, where he and Asakura were both sizable draws for RIZIN.

It’s been almost seven years since UFC last traveled to Japan, but Kape promises putting him against Asakura at the top of a card would serve as the perfect way to pack an arena.

“Me and him, we have a big fan base in Japan,” Kape said. “Definitely, this is an opportunity for the UFC to bring back the UFC to Japan. We can put more than 50,000 people in Saitama Arena, like we did before, like I did in the main event against him when I became a champion in 2020. We put like 44,000 or 45,000 people [in there]. It’s good to take this advantage.

“Of course, I support this type of big fight in Japan. Just a good addition to this division. We needed fighters like Asakura, like Manel Kape, like [Muhammad] Mokaev.”

As much as Kape would like to eventually conclude his rivalry with Asakura now that they’re both UFC fighters, he can’t concern himself with that right now.

At UFC 304, Kape competes in a potential No. 1 contender fight against undefeated flyweight Muhammad Mokaev, with the winner likely moving on to face reigning champion Alexandre Pantoja.

That’s Kape wants to think about right now, but assuming he wins on Saturday and then dethrones Pantoja later this year, he welcomes the chance to run it back with Asakura in 2025.

“It’s going to be a great story … next year,” Kape said. “My goal right now is beat Mokaev and then fight for the title end of the year. Then next year we’ll talk UFC Japan.”

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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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Ihor Potieria faces kickboxing ace Cesar Almeida in a middleweight showdown at UFC 307 on Oct. 5, multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting following a report by Super Lutas.

The promotion has yet to announce the headlining attraction and location for the pay-per-view event, which is expected to take place in Salt Lake City.

Potieria (21-6) last fought in May, facing Michel Pereira on short notice in Rio de Janeiro and losing via first-round submission. His attempt to overturn the result to a no contest was later denied by the Brazilian commission.

Potieria faces off against a Brazilian opponent for the fourth time since joining UFC. The Ukrainian talent scored the biggest win of his career in early 2023 by knocking out MMA legend Mauricio Rua, but has since been finished by Rodolfo Bellato and Pereira.

Almeida (5-1) looks to rebound from a decision defeat to Roman Kopylov this past June after winning his octagon debut with a bonus-winning knockout over Dylan Budka.

Almeida is a former kickboxing champion in Brazil and previously defeated future UFC and GLORY two-division champion Alex Pereira via decision in the kickboxing ring, though he also lost two other decisions to “Poatan.”

The UFC 207 lineup currently includes Aljamain Sterling vs. Movsar Evloev and Marina Rodriguez vs. Iasmin Lucindo.

MMA Fighting – All Posts

UFC 304 takes place on Saturday at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. In the main event, Birmingham’s Leon Edwards puts his welterweight title on the line against second-ranked Belal Muhammad in a rematch.  In the co-main event, Salford’s Tom Aspinall defends his interim heavyweight championship belt against fourth-ranked Curtis Blaydes also in a rematch. 

UFC 304 also features a lightweight match between Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblettand King Green, formerly known as Bobby Green.  

UFC 304 Ceremonial Weigh-in Face-Offs

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