The UFC returns to the United Kingdom for a huge welterweight title fight between hometown champion Leon Edwards against long-time rival Belal Muhammad in Manchester, England for UFC 304.
They'll be supported by a co-main event for the interim heavyweight championship as Tom Aspinall takes on Curtis Blaydes in a hotly-anticipated rematch too, while the likes of Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann, Muhammad Mokaev and Arnold Allen also feature on the card.
We'll take a look at the main event fight on the card and provide you with our best free UFC betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash while taking in the action in the octagon.
Learn more about how to bet on the UFC here.
UFC 304 information
- Saturday, July 27th 2024
- Co-Op Arena, Manchester, England
- Welterweight Championship (170-pounds)
- 5 x 5 minute rounds
- Main card starts 22:00 ET
Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad
A very intriguing fight for the welterweight championship awaits this weekend, between two fighters very familiar with each other after a controversial previous bout.
Champion Edwards is on a 13-fight undefeated streak, taking his professional MMA record to 22-3-1 with seven knockouts and three submissions.
In his last four fights "Rocky" has beaten four UFC legends convincingly. A huge co-main event against Nate Diaz saw Edwards dominated for five rounds and claim a unanimous decision victory, although he got caught with a strike late on that most people remember the fight for.
The win earned him a title shot against legendary champion Kamaru Usman and despite struggling in three of the first four rounds, Edwards landed the head kick heard around the world to knock Usman out cold and win the championship.
In the rematch he dominated for five rounds to win yet again, and last time out he controlled rival Colby Covington to another unanimous decision and now looks to settle an old score.
Muhammad is on a ten-fight unbeaten streak currently, taking his professional record in MMA to 23-3-1 with five knockouts and one submission to his name.
He controlled legendary grappler Demian Maia on the ground using his impressive wrestling before dominating dangerous striker Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson to another decision win. That set up a rematch with Vicente Luque, who had previously KO'd him in the past, who he controlled five rounds for a win.
Next came a difficult game against the undefeated Sean Brady, but "Remember the name" showed his improved boxing skills to earn a knockout victory and earn a performance of the night bonus. Last time out in a title eliminator he impressively defeated Gilbert Burns to earn this championship fight.
Route to victory
We've alluded to it already, but there is a history and tension between these two fighters because of a previous bout between the two that ended in a no-contest.
Edwards and Muhammad met in a short-notice main event bout back in March 2021 but the bout didn't get past the second round before "Rocky" accidentally eye-poked Muhammad and he couldn't continue. Ever since then, there has been a lot of public back-and-forth, but they finally get to settle it.
For the reigning and defending champion, his game plan will be more of the same. His striking is among the best in the entire division with excellent kickboxing skills, but his takedown defense has become one of his greatest attributes.
That is ideal, because Muhammad has been training in Dagestan with Khabib Nurmagomedov in recent years to improve his grappling skills and that will be his greatest weapon in this fight.
Ultimately it's a striker vs grappler fight, and Edwards showed during their first fight that his striking is more than good enough to dominate. But will Muhammad's vastly improved grappling make a difference after three years of training? He'll have to hope so.
Check out our review for Bovada sports betting here.
UFC Picks: Leon Edwards to dominate
When looking at the match up, it's hard to see how Edwards doesn't continue his reign over the 170-pound division with a win over Muhammad.
The defensive wrestling has previously stood up against elite grapplers like Gunnar Nelson, Rafael Dos Anjos and most recently Usman and Covington, which suggests he should be more than comfortable dealing with Muhammad's attempts, especially having felt his strength in the octagon before.
Their first fight saw Edwards a lot more aggressive than usual and going for the finish, and while he always tends to lean on the more cautious side to improve his chances of victory rather than a highlight, he will be keen to put a statement on this.
Expect the early exchanges to be tentative, before Edwards really pours it on in the latter rounds and tries to secure himself a stoppage win with his striking when he backs an exhausted Muhammad against a cage and starts to land big shots after defending takedowns at every corner.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
