The UFC is back across the pond for another highly anticipated pay-per-view: UFC 304.
The United Kingdom is where Saturday’s fight night will go down — and there will be championships up for grabs. The event is headlined by a rematch years in the making between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad as Edwards puts his welterweight title on the line. The co-main event sees Tom Aspinall defending the interim heavyweight championship in his home country against Curtis Blaydes. In total, there will be 14 bouts that should equal an exciting night for what will likely be a raucous English crowd.
Follow USA TODAY Sports here for all the results and top highlights from UFC 304:
Jake Hadley vs. Caolan Loughran
Fight in progress.
Muhammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape: result
The animosity between these two fighters before the bell even rang made the entire arena electric. The hype died down in the opening round with each fighter very patient, forcing the referee to tell them to do something several times.
Mokaev tried a takedown in the second round but he clearly grabbed Kape’s shorts, and the referee called a timeout and scolded Mokaev for what he attempted. Even with the stoppage, Mokaev had a productive second round. One of Kape’s toes was noticeably bothering him but he refused medical attention.
Kape had a nicely executed takedown in the final round in an attempt to lock a guillotine choke, with Mokaev landing strikes as he tried to get out of it. Once he did, each fighter just threw everything at each other. Neither was able to get a stoppage before time expired, but it looks like they’ve put their hate for each other to bed, both of them embracing afterward.
It was a unanimous decision victory for Mokaev; he outperformed Kape in nearly every statistical category and controlled the pace of the fight the entire way.
Muhammad Mokaev, Manel Kape try to start fight early
There’s no love lost between Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape.
The two tried to take each other out before Bruce Buffer could say each of their names, forcing security to get between the two inside the octagon.
Oban Elliott vs. Preston Parsons: result
The first round was pretty tame with neither fighter landing anything significant, but the action picked up in the second round when Elliott was able to take control on the ground even though Parsons attempted to initiate for the majority of the second frame.
The bout appeared to be tied before the third round, and each fighter needed to make the case for them to get the win from the judges, but Elliot won by unanimous decision, thanks to his outstanding defense on takedowns while landing the most significant strikes.
Modestas Bukauskas vs. Marcin Prachnio: result
Marcin Prachnio had control of the bout early but Modestas Bukauskas connected on a punch that resulted in his opponent losing his balance, completely changing the momentum of the contest just before the first round ended. The same exact sequence happened in the second round, and again Prachnio was able to recover and avoid defeat.
Bukauskas got a takedown late in the second round, the first of his UFC career. However he wasn’t able to gain any advantage on the ground, and the second round ended without much happening.
Prachnio started the third round with a flurry of punches that landed, only for Bukauskas to get another takedown to kill the advantage. It looked like things were stalling for a few minutes, but the long play paid off; he was able to get his arms wrapped for an arm triangle and Prachnio tapped out with less than two minutes left in what was a thrilling contest.
Sam Patterson vs. Kiefer Crosbie: result
Another quick finish, this time by submission.
Sam Patterson landed quality strikes on Kiefer Crosbie before he took him down. It was clear Crosbie didn’t have much time left, and Patterson got the arm triangle executed. Crosbie tapped out to give Patterson his seventh win by submission in 12 victories.
Mick Parkin vs. Lukasz Brzeski: result
This one didn’t need the entire first round to finish as Mick Parkin got a knockout victory in his home country.
After three minutes of feeling each other out, Parkin got his golden chance when he landed an over-the-top right hand on Lukasz Brzeski’s head. After that it was blow after blow from the England native. Brzeski backed into the cage and was dropped, and that was all the referee needed to see to end the bout.
Shauna Bannon vs. Alice Ardelean: result
Shauna Bannon landed some early strikes but Alice Ardelean surprised her opponent with a takedown. Ardelean has yet to win by submission and she wasn’t able to do much on the ground, but Bannon countered with an arm bar attempt that nearly connected. Ardelean recovered with neither fighter able to take advantage in the first round.
The second round started like the first with Bannon successfully landing strikes, including a combination attack. Ardelean got another takedown but there wasn’t much done. The third round was much more strike-based and Ardelean was cut. Bannon landed some quality strikes, yet none were enough to take out Ardelean and the fight came down to the judges.
Bannon won by split decision. Even though Ardelean had the takedowns and no submission attempt was officially recorded, Bannon landed 130 strikes − with 60 significant hits to the head − while Ardelean had only 76 strikes.
When is UFC 304?
Early prelims: 6 p.m. ET.
Prelims: 8 p.m. ET.
Main card: 10 p.m. ET.
UFC 304 live stream
Early prelims for UFC 304 can be streamed via the UFC Fight Pass and ESPN+. The prelims will air on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The pay-per-view card can be purchased via ESPN+.
How much is UFC 304 PPV?
The main card of UFC 304 is $79.99.
Where is UFC 304?
UFC 304 will take place at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
UFC 304 fight card
Main card
UFC Welterweight Championship: Leon Edwards (c) vs. Belal Muhammad
UFC Heavyweight Interim Championship: Tom Aspinall (c) vs. Curtis Blaydes
Lightweight: King Green vs. Paddy Pimblett
Middleweight: Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Gregory Rodrigues
Featherweight: Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze
Prelims
Featherweight: Nathaniel Wood vs. Daniel Pineda
Women’s strawweight: Molly McCann vs. Bruna Brasil
Bantamweight: Jake Hadley vs. Caolan Loughran
Flyweight: Muhammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape
Early prelims
Welterweight: Oban Elliott vs. Preston Parsons
Light heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas vs. Marcin Prachnio
Flyweight: Muhammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape
Welterweight: Sam Patterson vs. Kiefer Crosbie
Heavyweight: Mick Parkin vs. Lukasz Brzeski
Women’s strawweight: Shauna Bannon vs. Alice Ardelean
UFC 304 odds
Odds according to BetMGM
UFC Welterweight Championship: Leon Edwards (-275) vs. Belal Muhammad (+225)
UFC Heavyweight Interim Championship: Tom Aspinall (-400) vs. Curtis Blaydes (+310)
Lightweight: King Green (-110) vs. Paddy Pimblett (-110)
Middleweight: Christian Leroy Duncan (-135) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (110)
Featherweight: Arnold Allen (-250) vs. Giga Chikadze (+195)
Featherweight: Nathaniel Wood (-450) vs. Daniel Pineda (+333)
Women’s strawweight: Molly McCann (-350) vs. Bruna Brasil (+275)
Bantamweight: Jake Hadley (+195) vs. Caolan Loughran (-250)
Light heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas (-165) vs. Marcin Prachnio (+135)
Welterweight: Oban Elliott (+140) vs. Preston Parsons (-165)
Flyweight: Muhammad Mokaev (-190) vs. Manel Kape (+160)
Welterweight: Sam Patterson (-500) vs. Kiefer Crosbie (+350)
Heavyweight: Mick Parkin (-550) vs. Lukasz Brzeski (+400)
Women’s strawweight: Shauna Bannon (-190) vs. Alice Ardelean (+160)
Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad: Tale of the tape
Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes: Tale of the tape
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