UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 27, 2024, at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England.[2]
UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 | ||||
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![]() The poster for UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 | ||||
Information | ||||
Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
Date | July 27, 2024 | |||
Venue | Co-op Live | |||
City | Manchester, England | |||
Attendance | 17,907[1] | |||
Total gate | $6,720,000[1] | |||
Event chronology | ||||
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Background
editThe event marked the promotion's fifth visit to Manchester and first since UFC 204 in October 2016.[2] Despite the event taking place in Manchester, the event was held based on Pacific Daylight Time (PDT, UTC-7) (Las Vegas) time with preliminary fights starting at 23.00 British Summer Time (15.00 PDT), and the main card starting 03.00 BST, which is the standard start time for UFC pay-per-view events of 19.00 PDT, which drew massive criticism from fans and fighters. Fans believed the matches should have started earlier (19.00 BST, or 11.00 PDT) for the UK audience.[4]
A UFC Welterweight Championship bout between current champion Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad headlined the event.[5] The pair previously fought at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad in March 2021, where the fight was declared a no contest following an accidental eye poke which left Muhammad unable to continue.[6]
An interim UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between the title holder Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes co-headlined the event.[7] They previously met at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall in July 2022 in which Blaydes won after Aspinall injured his knee fifteen seconds into the bout keeping him out of competition for a year.[8]
A middleweight bout between Christian Leroy Duncan and Robert Bryczek was scheduled for this event.[9] However, Bryczek withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by former LFA Middleweight Champion Gregory Rodrigues.[10]
A women's strawweight bout between Ravena Oliveira and Shauna Bannon was scheduled for this event.[11] However, Oliveira withdrew from the bout due to an injury and was replaced with promotional newcomer Alice Ardelean.[12]
A bantamweight bout between Ramon Taveras and Caolán Loughran was scheduled for this event.[13] However, Taveras had to withdraw from the bout due to an injury and was reportedly relaced by Hecher Sosa.[14][15] It was later reported that Sosa would not be competing at the event as Loughran would face Jake Hadley instead.[16][17] At the weigh-ins, Hadley weighed in at 137 pounds, half a pound over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and Hadley was fined 20 percent of his purse which went to Loughran.[18]
The event originally featured $50,000 fight night bonuses, which were raised to $100,000 before the event.[19]
Results
editMain card | |||||||
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Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
Welterweight | Belal Muhammad | def. | Leon Edwards (c) | Decision (unanimous) (48–47, 48–47, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
Heavyweight | Tom Aspinall (ic) | def. | Curtis Blaydes | KO (punches) | 1 | 1:00 | [b] |
Lightweight | Paddy Pimblett | def. | King Green | Technical Submission (triangle choke) | 1 | 3:22 | |
Middleweight | Gregory Rodrigues | def. | Christian Leroy Duncan | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Featherweight | Arnold Allen | def. | Giga Chikadze | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Preliminary card (ESPN 2 / ESPN+) | |||||||
Featherweight | Nathaniel Wood | def. | Daniel Pineda | Decision (unanimous) (29–27, 29–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Women's Strawweight | Bruna Brasil | def. | Molly McCann | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Catchweight (137 lb) | Jake Hadley | def. | Caolán Loughran | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Flyweight | Muhammad Mokaev | def. | Manel Kape | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Early preliminary card (ESPN+ / UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
Welterweight | Oban Elliott | def. | Preston Parsons | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
Light Heavyweight | Modestas Bukauskas | def. | Marcin Prachnio | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 3 | 3:12 | |
Welterweight | Sam Patterson | def. | Kiefer Crosbie | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 1 | 2:50 | |
Heavyweight | Mick Parkin | def. | Łukasz Brzeski | KO (punches) | 1 | 3:23 | |
Women's Strawweight | Shauna Bannon | def. | Alice Ardelean | Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 |
- ^ For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
- ^ For the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship.
Bonus awards
editThe following fighters received bonuses.[21]
- Fight of the Night: No bonus awarded.
- Performance of the Night ($200,000): Paddy Pimblett
- Performance of the Night ($100,000): Tom Aspinall and Mick Parkin
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Mike Bohn (2024-07-28). "UFC 304 post-event facts: Tom Aspinall shortens fight time record in rare interim title defense". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- ^ a b Guillherme Cruz (2024-04-24). "UFC 304 announced for Manchester this summer". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ Staff (2024-04-24). "UFC 304 confirmed for Manchester in July". bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
- ^ Mathew Riddle (2024-05-01). "Aspinall: UFC 304 Start Time 'Absolutely Terrible'". si.com. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
- ^ Mike Bohn (2024-05-16). "UFC 304 official with Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad headliner and more in Manchester". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
- ^ Nolan King (2021-03-14). "UFC Fight Night 187 results: Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad ends in nasty accidental eye poke". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
- ^ Staff (2024-05-16). "Interim heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes set for UFC 304 co-main event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
- ^ Eddie Law (2022-07-23). "UFC London: Aspinall suffers knee injury 15 seconds in, Blaydes takes TKO decision". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
- ^ Bryson Hester (2024-05-23). "UFC 304 adds Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Robert Bryczek". cagesidepress.com. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
- ^ Mathew Riddle. "UFC 304: savage middleweight strikers clash at Manchester PPV". si.com. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
- ^ Parviz Iskenderov (2024-05-14). "UFC 304: Molly McCann faces Bruna Brasil, Shauna Bannon meets Ravena Oliveira". fightmag.com. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
- ^ Ryan Harkness (2024-07-15). "TikTok star Alice Ardelean added to UFC 304 fight card in Manchester". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2024-07-15.
- ^ Ian O'Neill (2024-04-17). "Caolan Loughran vs. Ramon Tavares set for UFC 304". severemma.com. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- ^ Nolan King (2024-07-17). "Ramon Taveras withdraws from UFC 304 vs. Caolan Loughran: 'It sucks that it came to this'". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
- ^ Daniel Manso (2024-07-18). "New Spanish partner for Topuria: Hecher joins the UFC". as.com. Retrieved 2024-07-18. (in Spanish)
- ^ Cristina Parra (2024-07-18). "Hecher Sosa's dream on pause: "It was very close!"". as.com. Retrieved 2024-07-19. (in Spanish)
- ^ Nolan King (2024-07-22). "Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (July 15-21)". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-07-22.
- ^ Alexander K. Lee (2024-07-26). "UFC 304 weigh-in results: 2 title bouts official, 1 fighter misses". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
- ^ Nolan King, Ken Hathaway and Abbey Subhan (2024-07-25). "Dana White increases UFC 304 performance bonuses to six figures after King Green's plea". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
- ^ "UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2". Ultimate Fighting Championship. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
- ^ Chris Taylor (2024-07-27). "UFC 304 Bonus Report: Paddy Pimblett takes home $200k". bjpenn.com. Retrieved 2024-07-27.