Co-op Live in Manchester, England hosts tonight’s UFC 304 pay-per-view event. The fight card is headlined by a welterweight title bout between champion Leon Edwards and second-ranked Belal Muhammad in a rematch. The two first fought in March 2021, but the bout ended in a No Contest after an accidental eye poke rendered Muhammad unable to continue.
In the co-main event interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall puts his title on the line against Curtis Blaydes, also in a rematch. Their first meeting in July 2022 ended in just 15 seconds. Aspinall suffered a knee injury the ended the fight.
Paddy Pimblett has done nothing but win since first arriving in UFC, but that doesn’t mean he’s being lauded as the next big thing in the lightweight division.
Always outspoken with a rabid fan base supporting him, the 29-year-old scouser constantly touts himself as a future UFC champion, but his sample size against the best fighters in the world is simply too small to really know his ceiling right now. Pimblett has a chance to advance his agenda on Saturday when he faces veteran lightweight King Green in a featured bout on the UFC 304 main card.
While Green has never been a UFC title contender, he’s lingered around the top 15 for several years and racked up impressive wins over names like Grant Dawson, Jim Miller, Tony Ferguson, and Al Iaquinta. That’s a level of competition that Pimblett hasn’t faced yet, but he will this weekend.
“This is certainly the beginning of those stretch of fights,” UFC analyst Laura Sanko told MMA Fighting about Pimblett’s proving ground at UFC 304. “Up until this point, Paddy is proving he’s as good as he said he was in Cage Warriors, and to a large degree, he’s made true on those promises.
“The reality is he’s passed every test we’ve put in front of him. Some of them controversially, but the fact is when you go to his Tapology page, there’s nothing but green in the UFC and we have to tip our hat to that. King Green is a different test altogether.”
Pimblett currently sports a 5-0 UFC record, although many argue he should have one loss on his résumé after earning a razor-close decision win over Jared Gordon back in 2022.
Despite claiming that he’s destined to wear gold around his waist, Pimblett hasn’t quite looked like a polished product in the UFC just yet, but he has an opportunity to change that narrative at UFC 304.
“To take out someone like Tony Ferguson, a name, is always impressive, but I think we all understand where Tony is in his career at this point and it’s not like taking out the Tony Ferguson of 2016,” Sanko said of Pimblett’s most recent win. “It’s just not the same thing. King Green, he’s a unique test for anybody, I believe, because of his hand speed.
“He’s one of the fastest guys and most unique looks on the feet that you’re ever going to fight at lightweight. No one fights like him. He occasionally pays for it, but way more often than not, and certainly with great frequency lately, he has been chalking guys with his hand speed, his position, and just the fact that his strikes are coming from places that it’s just really tough to train for.”
Sanko points directly at Green’s awkward and unique style as the biggest reason why Pimblett could potentially struggle at UFC 304. Green’s approach, where he oftentimes comes after his opponents with his hands at his hips before launching combinations, essentially goes against what any top striking coach would tell you to do fundamentally.
Somehow, Green uses it effectively, and because it works, it also makes it that much harder for any opponent to game plan against him.
“We always talk about the guys with the really traditional karate stances, we’ve got to find a guy to really mimic that,” Sanko explained. “Good luck finding a guy who can fight like King Green does in the gym. Because he’s lightning fast, he throws from his hips, he’s got a swag that I think when you see that swag come out in a fight, I can only imagine as the opponent there’s a little part of your brain that goes, ‘Oh shit, he’s found his flow.’
“When he gets flowing, he’s a very dangerous, powerful guy because of how precise and how fast he is.”
Like every other fight he’s had thus far in UFC, Pimblett exudes confidence that he’ll dispatch Green and continue his march up the lightweight rankings.
Maybe that’s true, but Sanko believes this is actually just the first of many obstacles Pimblett must get through before convincing a skeptical world that he’s the real deal.
“Is this a test for Paddy? Huge test for Paddy,” Sanko said. “But I think it’s the beginning of a series of tests that we’re going to need to see him pass. He’ll have a couple of fights like this where it’s fringe top 15, early top 15, and then if he passes those tests, then the ceiling is endless for Paddy.
“These are important moments and important times for him to go out there and make good on a lot of promises that he’s made the fan base.”
Leon Edwards is getting a good chuckle out of Belal Muhammad.
The two welterweight standouts collide in a rematch Saturday for Edwards’ welterweight title in the main event of UFC 304. Ahead of the bout, Muhammad and his team have not been shy in making grand proclamations about their fighter, including Muhammad’s coach comparing the Chicago native’s boxing to Canelo Alvarez’s and Muhammad himself repeatedly going into elaborate detail about how he plans to “torture” Edwards over five rounds and painting a dream scenario of a decisive decision victory to win the belt.
For Edwards, it’s all been a bit strange.
“All this, if it was me, yeah, I’m not going to go mad deluded and shit and just throw out random shit, but [I’d at least be saying], ‘I’m going to knock this guy out and cut him open.’ You want violence in it,” Edwards said with a smirk at UFC 304 media day. “If I could dream this scenario in my brain, I would dream of violence. I wouldn’t dream of f*cking going to decision. You know what I mean? It’s just weird thoughts that’s going on.
“He is [the least intimidating person]. Like, there’s just zero. Let’s say we’re in the street and I saw Belal Muhammad — I wouldn’t be afraid of him one bit, and that’s how I look at it. He’s not intimidating one bit. That’s it.”
Edwards, 32, is currently MMA Fighting’s No. 3 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He is unbeaten across 13 bouts since 2015 and captured his title with a legendary come-from-behind knockout of Kamaru Usman in 2022. Edwards then defended his welterweight belt twice in 2023, defeating Usman again before outclassing Colby Covington in a one-sided bout.
Muhammad, 36, is also unbeaten in 10 consecutive UFC bouts dating back to 2019. In recent years, he has dominated opposition with his wrestling and aggressive work rate, beating the likes of Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady, and Vicente Luque. Ahead of UFC 304, Muhammad vowed that he also plans to out-strike Edwards in addition to out-wrestling the Englishman, though Edwards isn’t giving that promise much credence.
“He might try to [strike]. He won’t have much success in it. I think everyone knows his game plan would be to come out and try wrestling, but even his wrestling ain’t all that, really. He ain’t a f*cking Khabib [Nurmagomedov] or like a ‘GSP’ [Georges St-Pierre]. He’s Belal,” Edwards said with a laugh. “You know what I mean? So it’s like, I don’t know, let’s see.”
The champ also couldn’t help but scoff at Muhammad’s promises of extreme violence.
“It’s a contradiction, right?” Edwards said. “When has he ever tortured anybody in the cage? When has he ever knocked anybody out? He’s going to choke me halfway, look at my brother, let me back up, look at my coach? I was like, ‘Bro, you’re deluded.’ He even came out and said that if he beats me — which he won’t — he’s topping ‘GSP.’ His boxing coach came out and said he has the same hands as Canelo. It’s like, what the hell is going on?
“I feel like he’s trying to talk himself into the fight. He’s trying to convince himself that he’s better than what he is, I feel. It’s the only way I can see it. I can’t see what else there is.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time for Edwards and Muhammad. The two met previously in a 2021 bout that ended prematurely when Muhammad sustained an accidental eye poke just 18 seconds into the second round. Edwards has rattled off four straight wins since and emerged as one of the sport’s most talented fighters, while Muhammad has bulldozed his way through five wins and cemented his place as a top welterweight contender.
Edwards expects his road since that 2021 no contest to benefit him more on Saturday night than the journey Muhammad has taken to earn his long-awaited title shot.
“I don’t think it’ll be different, it’ll be similar,” Edwards said, “because Colby is boxing and wrestling, Kamaru is boxing and wrestling. They kick but not really, they’re more boxing and wrestling. Belal, same, boxing and wrestling, he kicks but not really. Their attacks as far as wrestling goes [are] similar. So I just feel like my path to this rematch has better prepared me for the rematch more than his path to the rematch.
“He fought Burns, [who] was injured. Who else? Luque. Who else? ‘Wonderboy’ [Thompson], that’s 60 years old. Demian Maia, 60 years old. So all the people that he’s fought [weren’t like me].”
UFC 304 takes place July 27 at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
The rising lightweight star has officially signed a new UFC contract ahead of his main card scrap with Bobby Green later tonight (Sat., July 27, 2024) at UFC 304 live on ESPN+ PPV from inside Co-op Live in Manchester, England. Pimblett was entering this weekend with one fight left on his current deal.
“The Baddy” announced his UFC re-signing during a recent episode of UFC 304 “Embedded.” Check it out below:
| Paddy Pimblett confirms he has re-signed with the #UFC in the latest Embedded episode. ✍️ pic.twitter.com/fpCkliXuXO
— MMA Orbit (@mma_orbit) July 26, 2024
“New contract signed,” said Pimblett. “I’m not going nowhere.”
Pimblett, who enters his third-straight PPV main card appearance later tonight at UFC 304, is one of the biggest English stars on the roster today. He may have encountered a few obstacles throughout his UFC career, but “The Baddy” is 5-0 inside of the Octagon and looks to be getting more and more confident each time he competes.
This weekend will be a huge test for the 29-year-old as he goes up against “King” in Manchester. Green is one of the savviest veterans in the lightweight division today and a guy who always delivers in big-time spots. It’s going to be up to Pimblett to shut him down early, find the finish, and prove why UFC made a good decision re-signing him.
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 at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2/ESPN+at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 304: “Edwards vs. Muhammad 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 304 fight card and PPV lineup click here.
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Card Info
Airing on UFC Fight Pass @ Saturday 07.27.2024 at 10:00 AM ET
Main Card
Division
Fighters
Lightweight Championship
Amru Magomedov vs. Ali Kabdulla
Featherweight
Walter Cogliandro vs. Vicente Vargas
Catchweight (194)
Khabib Nabiev vs. Bruce Souto
Featherweight
Trent Girdham vs. Vilson Ndregjoni
Catchweight (174)
Raimond Magomedaliev vs. Erivan Pereira
Welterweight
Khotam Boynazarov vs. Giorgi Egnatashvili
Light Heavyweight
Reinier de Ridder vs. Magomedmurad Khasaev
Prelims
Division
Fighters
Flyweight
Isaac Pimentel vs. Genil Francisco
Flyweight
Rashid Vagabov vs. Bairam Shammadov
Bantamweight
Asaf Chopurov vs. Su Sung Cho Gotoh
Strawweight
Carol Foro vs. Marina Nica
Catchweight (190)
Khaled Laallam vs. Diego Bandu
Fight card order and start times may be inaccurate.
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