The UFC has officially booked a pair of title fights to headline its first trip to Manchester since 2016. The card will be headlined by England’s own Leon Edwards.
Welterweight champion Leon Edwards will be looking to make his third title defense against Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC 304 on July 27 inside Co-Op Live arena. Edwards and Muhammad both previously fought in 2021, but the bout resulted in a no contest when Muhammad (23-3) was unable to continue after an accidental eye poke in the second round.
In the co-main event, Tom Aspinall will defend his interim heavyweight championship against Curtis Blaydes in a rematch of a bout that took place two years ago in London.
Your #UFC304 main event is here! ????@Leon_EdwardsMMA vs @BullyB170 & @AspinallMMA vs @RazorBlaydes265 will meet in the Octagon in Manchester! ???????? ????
Don't miss out on tickets: https://t.co/c2A7hqsw4q pic.twitter.com/PL0VoYDRbE
— UFC (@ufc) May 16, 2024
Aspinall (14-3) won the interim championship in November by finishing Sergei Pavlovich in just 69 seconds. He called out Jon Jones for a unification bout. But Jones and the UFC prefer a matchup against former champion Stipe Miocic as planned and then will address who’s next. That matchup is expected to take place later this year. Undoubtedly Aspinall has been one of the most exciting heavyweights in the division. He has 6 first round KO’s in his 8 UFC fights. He’s clearly looking to finish and that’s why the fans love him. This fight is a rematch as well. When both fighter initially fought, Aspinall had to withdrawal due to a sudden freak knee injury only fifteen minutes into the fight. That is the only blemish on Aspinall’s record.
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
