Everything MMA fans need to know about UFC 304: Edwards vs Muhammad 2 from the date and start time, to the full card, streaming and the story so far.
The UFC returns to Manchester, England, for a Twilight event this July with two long-awaited rematches topping the main card.
Both highly anticipated bouts include British champions defending their world titles in front of what’s sure to be a raucous home crowd. It’s UFC 304: Edwards vs Muhammad 2.
UFC 304: Full card
As per the UFC website, the following bouts have been confirmed for UFC 304, the specific bout order has not yet been confirmed.
UFC 304 main card
- Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad 2
- Tom Aspinall vs Curtis Blaydes 2
- Arnold Allen vs Giga Chikadze
- Muhammad Mokaev vs Manel Kape
- Paddy Pimblett vs Bobby Green
UFC 304 preliminary card
- Nathaniel Wood vs Daniel Pineda
- Molly McCann vs Bruna Brasil
- Christian Leroy Duncan vs Robert Bryczek
- Shauna Bannon vs Alice Ardelean
- Caolan Loughran vs Ramon Taveras
- Oban Elliot vs Preston Parsons
- Mick Parkin vs Lukasz Brzeski
- Sam Patterson vs Kiefer Crosbie
- Modestas Bukauskas vs Marcin Prachnio
Including both the undisputed and interim champions topping the card, there is a grand total of nine Top 15 ranked fighters competing at UFC 304.
UFC 304 fighters
UFC 304 is headlined by welterweight champion Leon Edwards, returning for the first time since his dominant decision win over Colby Covington last year, in a rematch against veteran contender Belal Muhammad.
Social media rants and interview callouts have been commonplace with these two warriors, with their intense rivalry starting back in 2021 when the pair first locked horns in the UFC octagon.
While Edwards was able to get the better of Muhammad in the opening round, a nasty eye poke in the second brought the contest to an unceremonious halt.
Edwards went on to win the welterweight title just two fights later.
There’s another rematch in the co-main event of UFC 304 of a fight that also ended abruptly, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall against American powerhouse Curtis Blaydes.
The first clash between the two juggernauts was waved off after just 15 seconds back in 2022 as the Brit blew out his knee just as the scrap was getting going.
Aspinall went on to knockout Sergei Pavlovich to claim the interim title, whilst Blaydes bounced back with a second-round knockout of Jailton Almeida earlier in the year.
Fan-favorite featherweights Arnold Allen and Giga Chikadze also grace the main card, although there will be far more attention on the two bouts leading up to that featured fight.
The next flyweight title contender will be decided when undefeated phenom Muhammad Mokaev takes on the hard-hitting Manel Kape, with cult hero Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett also returning to action to take on Bobby Green.
Looking further down the card, MMA fans will be delighted to see the likes of Irish stars Caolan Loughran and Shauna Bannon returning to action, alongside the likes of Liverpool’s own Molly McCann and Welsh prospect Oban Elliot on the prelims.
UFC 304 start time
UFC 304 is scheduled for Saturday, July 27.
Unfortunately, for both fighters competing and the fans in attendance, the event is set to start at the ridiculous local time of 3 AM, which has already been the subject of intense scrutiny.
Where is UFC 304 taking place?
UFC 304 is set to take place from the new Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.
Manchester has hosted just four UFC events before the Edwards vs Muhammad PPV, which took place in 2007, 2009, 2013, and 2016 – with the last event featuring Britain’s own Michael Bisping defending his middleweight title against Dan Henderson.
How to watch UFC 304
The UFC 304 early prelims will be available to watch via ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass starting from 6 PM ET/11 PM BST.
The preliminary bouts will follow via ESPN 2 and ESPN+ a few hours later, with those supporting fights set to feature from 8 PM ET/1 AM BST.
Finally, the main card will start at 10 PM ET/3 AM BST and will be a PPV event, which means fans in the US will have to purchase the product via ESPN+ PPV.
How to get tickets for UFC 304
Tickets for UFC 304 on July 27 are still available via Ticketmaster.
Prices range from around £400 in the upper stands to several thousands for ground floor tickets, subject to availability.
UFC 304: Edwards vs Muhammad and the story so far
The following is an ongoing recap of the story of UFC 304 so far, going all the way back to the fight card announcement and giving readers the key headlines ahead of the return to Manchester.
July 20: Khamzat Chimaev calls the welterweight title fight ‘boring’ as he pushes for his own title effort.
July 16: Tom Aspinall reveals he spends his mornings dipping his knuckles in petrol in order to harden his weapons.
July 15: Ravena Oliveira withdraws from UFC 304 clash with Shauna Bannon, replaced by ‘TikTok’ star Alice Ardelean.
July 14: Former foe Kamaru Usman wants to see ‘that killer come out’ of Leon Edwards as he expects ‘Rocky’ to retain his title in Manchester.
July 9: Two-time boxing world champion Josh Warrington sends a heartfelt message of support to Tom Aspinall ahead of title rematch vs Blaydes.
July 8: Paddy Pimblett reacts to his UFC 304 opponent Bobby Green legally changing his name to ‘King’ Green.
July 3: Inside reports state that Manel Kape allegedly split Muhammad Mokaev’s head open in a fight at the UFC PI.
June 24: Michael ‘Venom’ Page predicts the UFC 304 main event will be ‘slow paced’ and end in a decision win for the champion.
June 14: Belal Muhammad takes aim at UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis in the hopes of one day getting a shot at champ-champ status.
June 13: Leon Edwards appears on a radio program to tell listeners that he’ll ‘shut up’ Belal Muhammad once and for all in July.
June 10: Leon Edwards predicts that Paddy Pimblett will lose his major homecoming fight at UFC 304.
June 9: Paddy Pimblett called out for a rematch with Jared Gordon, if he can get his hand raised at UFC 304 in Manchester.
June 9: Tom Aspinall reveals plan to copy Leon Edwards’ work with a dedicated sleep specialist ahead of the late start time for UFC 304.
May 20: Islam Makhachev details ‘secret sparring session’ with Leon Edwards as he eyes shot at the winner of UFC 304’s main event.
May 17: Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen warn Belal Muhammad of the ‘very difficult’ task ahead of him with the Edwards rematch.
May 17: Undisputed UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones reacts to Tom Aspinall’s interim title defense announcement in a quickly-deleted social media post.
May 1: UFC commentator Jon Anik shares his immediate reaction to the early-morning start time for UFC 304, vowing to keep fans awake with his energy on the desk.
UFC 304 goes down live from Manchester on July 27.