Five key talking points as UFC 304 adds 14 fights to Manchester return (2024)

The full card for UFC 304 now looks to be set, as the promotion has officially announced 14 fights for the July 27th event.

With the UFC returning to Manchester for the first time in 100 PPV events UFC CEO, Dana White, teased that it would be a blockbuster treat for the UK fanbase.

Now the event looks to be set in stone, here are the five major talking points surrounding the UFC’s return to Manchester.

Controversy over the start time

When it was finally announced, fans couldn’t help but notice one thing that massively put off the majority of willing ticket buyers. The event will take place in the early hours of the morning, to cater to the U.S. fanbase.

Leon Edwards, who will finally settle his rivalry with Belal Muhammad in the main event, revealed on The MMA Hour this past Monday, that he was told the event was originally set to take place in Utah, but was changed to Manchester.

Because of Utah being the original location, the PPV slot had already been set by ESPN.

Fans in the Co-op Live Arena will have to wait up till likely 5:30 am until the two fighters in the main event make their walk. This was the case the last time the promotion landed in Manchester for UFC 204, and fans could be seen falling asleep in their seats during the event.

Although this event seemed like a massive win for the UK fanbase, this has been an extremely difficult factor for the fans to process, and it isn’t sitting well.

UFC interim heavyweight title is being defended

Bizarrely, the UFC interim heavyweight title will be defended in the co-main event.

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Although I do not blame Tom Aspinall at all, for wanting to stay active, there is no reason why he shouldn’t be preparing for a title unification bout instead.

When the UFC interim heavyweight title was introduced last November, it was because Jon Jones had to withdraw from his scheduled fight against Stipe Miocic. The 41-year-old, who hasn’t competed for three years, should have stayed on the card and fought Aspinall for the interim title.

Alas, we are here now and Aspinall will finally look to get his revenge on ‘Razor’ Blaydes.

When the two first met in 2022, the fight ended unceremoniously after Aspinall suffered a fight-ending knee injury within the opening 10 seconds.

The last time an interim title was defended was back in 2013 when Renan Barao beat Eddie Wineland at UFC 165.

UK vs Rest of the World, but how strong is the fight card?

Historically the UFC’s UK-based events include some top names from around Europe, Marvin Vettori and Roman Dolidze being two that come to mind when they competed on the last UK PPV, UFC 286.

With that being said, this card is truly shaping up as a UK vs Rest of the World, with all 14 fights including a fighter from either the UK or Ireland.

Despite that, the quality of the card has been questioned with there being only seven ranked fighters excluding the two champions. Although the majority of the matchups are well put together, the lack of household names outside of the main and co-main events is unlikely to draw in the international fanbase.

Leon Edwards, despite being pound-for-pound number three, isn’t entirely loved by fans outside of the UK, similar to Tom Aspinall.

The promotion’s decision to have them both defend their titles on the same card will likely draw in more PPV buys, but there isn’t going to be a huge buzz around the event from an American fanbase, because they simply just don’t have a popular horse in the race.

Paddy Pimblett returns to the UK as he seeks a spot in the rankings

Popular (or formerly) British fighter, Paddy Pimblett returns to the UK for his third UFC fight in the UK, as he takes on Bobby Green.

During his first two fights in London, Pimblett was extremely popular amongst the fans as they saw him as a future title challenger from their country that they could get behind.

Despite that, he went on to have an extremely controversial fight against Jared Gordon at UFC 282, and the way he dealt with the controversy led to a large majority of the fanbase turning on him. Since then, he seems to have lost a lot of his hype.

Although ‘The Baddy’ may have lost some of his popularity, Bobby Green isn’t likely to get the UK fans to support against their own, and with a win, the 29-year-old could see himself finally enter the rankings at 155lbs.

Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad finally settle their rivalry

If you’re not British or an avid Belal Muhammad fan (if there are any out there), this main event is likely quite uninspiring for you.

Earlier this week, Conor McGregor mocked the fight questioning whether it’s even a PPV, predicting that it won’t exceed 200,000 PPV buys.

Despite it being unattractive to many, it is a fight that needs to happen so that the welterweight division can move forward. Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards is putting together a very fun and dominant championship run and is looking to secure his third title defense.

Belal Muhammad may not be the most popular fighter on the roster, but he is undoubtedly one of the most skilled at 170lbs and poses a very legitimate threat to the British title reign.

Not only is the fight utterly intriguing from a stylistic point of view but there is serious bad blood between these two. After their first fight in 2021 ended so unceremoniously due to an accidental eye-poke, Muhammad has not stopped talking about ‘Rocky’.

I for one, will be glad to see this rivalry finally settled and I am hoping that because of the bad blood, it may result in an exciting fight between two fighters who often fight to a decision. Add in the prospect of Edwards winning and McGregor winning at UFC 303, and that makes for a truly fascinating possibility.

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