This coming weekend, the UFC lands in Manchester, UK, for the biggest event to ever land that side of the pond, as both Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall fly the red and white flag, representing as champions on home soil.
UK MMA has been flying over the past few years, especially since Leon Edwards claimed the welterweight title by beating Kamaru Usman in 2022. He then brought the title back to the UK last year, defending against ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ at UFC 286.
Since then, heavyweight star, Tom Aspinall, has won the interim heavyweight title, becoming the second active champion representing England.
With that, the promotion decided to bring a huge event back to Manchester this coming Saturday, and it takes place from the biggest indoor arena in the UK, the Co-op Live Arena. Let’s take a look at our main card predictions for the historic night.
Arnold Allen hoping to return to the win column against Giga Chikadze
Arnold Allen spent his entire UFC career undefeated up until his last two fights where he has been beaten. ‘Almighty’ has admitted that he hasn’t been happy with his past few performances and is looking to remind people that he is still a threat in the heavyweight division.
Standing in his way this time round, though, is Giga Chikadze. The Georgian kickboxer hasn’t fought since August last year when he picked up a decision win against Alex Caceres.
In this bout, ‘The Ninja’ has the overall striking advantage in terms of his variance of striking and being able to utilize his strong kicking arsenal. However, the Brit has more grit and has faced far tougher opposition so far.
I believe Allen’s forward pressure and grit will be enough to get him over the hump in this fight.
Prediction: Arnold Allen via decision
Christian Leroy Duncan surprisingly finds himself on the main card
Instead of having Muhammad Mokaev vs Manel Kape on the main card, the UFC opted to put the middleweight bout between Christian Leroy Duncan and Gregory Rodrigues on the main card.
Originally, ‘CLD’ was scheduled to take on Robert Bryczek but the Pole pulled out and Gregory Rodrigues stepped in on a few weeks’ notice.
The Brit is looking to score his third win in a row since losing a close decision to Armen Petrosyan and will have to get through the durable Brazilian first.
Although Rodrigues is durable, Duncan is the faster and more athletic fighter, and I see him scoring a flash knockout.
Prediction: Christian Leroy Duncan via knockout
Paddy Pimblett takes on his toughest test so far in Bobby Green
Since his UFC debut in 2021, Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett has become very popular amongst the UFC fanbase, but they have been waiting for him to fight a ranked opponent.
He finally does so this weekend against Bobby ‘King’ Green, and it will likely be his toughest test to date.
The 37-year-old is one of the most durable fighters in the lightweight division, but recently, he has been cracked quite badly. Last December, Jalin Turner utterly brutalized the UFC veteran with a first-round knockout.
Fortunately, he bounced back from the loss with a win against Jim Miller at UFC 300 this past April.
Green’s boxing is probably more patient and calculated than the Scousers and he will likely not take a backward step, however, if he gets cracked again, he will likely go out.
Having said that, I see a way in which the 29-year-old scores a submission win, and if not, I see him taking a close decision.
Prediction: Paddy Pimblett via decision
Tom Aspinall looking to earn a title unification bout with a win over Blaydes
Tom Aspinall will join a very rare group of fighters when he defends his interim title in the co-main event this Saturday.
The 31-year-old will likely go down as the most athletic heavyweight of all time, no matter the result, and with a win over Curtis Blaydes this weekend, he will earn himself a shot at unifying the heavyweight title, according to Dana White.
Although their first meeting in 2022 only lasted 15 seconds before Aspinall went down with a knee injury, Blaydes showed signs of promise. His wrestling background will likely come into action, which will be extremely intriguing to see how Aspinall deals with that threat, considering he has only spent 1 second on his back during his UFC tenure, the least of any fighter on the roster.
If ‘Razor’ Blaydes does attempt to get the fight to the ground early on and he isn’t able to, it may be a short fight for the Chicago native.
Aspinall’s striking is levels above Blaydes’, and his BJJ threat is not to be scoffed at.
Prediction: Tom Aspinall via knockout
Leon Edwards looking to top off a historical night for UK MMA
Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad finally settle their beef at around 5 am local time on Sunday morning, after a three-year feud has continued to soar on.
Fight week between the two has been quite tense and has raised anticipation, and the two seemingly can’t wait to get their hands on each other now.
After their no contest in 2021, Belal Muhammad grew a hatred for ‘Rocky’ and has put his head down since to make sure they meet again. Even ‘Remember The Name’ may not have expected to meet again with an undisputed title on the line, but here we are.
The opening round of their first bout went the way of the Brit, who was beginning to piece Muhammad up and even rocked him with a big left high kick.
Despite that, there wasn’t enough action to take into consideration for their rematch. Both welterweights have improved immensely since their first meeting.
Edwards holds a significant striking advantage as he is known as a pure sniper from distance, and if Belal attempts to fight him at range, he could struggle. Despite that, Muhammad has the potential to put on an unrelenting pace, and if he does so, he could make it ugly for Edwards.
Although I think Edwards will come out victorious, I think it is going to be a far closer fight than a lot of people are giving it credit for.
Prediction: Leon Edwards via decision
- UNDISPUTED TITLE: UFC CEO Dana White confirms the winner of Aspinall vs Blaydes will fight for the undisputed title next