Sooo ... About Last Night

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Last night (Sat., July 27, 2024), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ventured forth to the Co-Op Live in Manchester, England for UFC 304. The first visit back to Manchester in many years brought with it a pair of title fights, provided you buy into the idea that Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes was a real title fight (whatever that means). Elsewhere on the card, top English talents like Paddy Pimblett, Arnold Allen, and Muhammad Mokaev were on display, making for a fun night in the UK.

Despite the fights taking place at a brutal local hour, the crowd remained pretty hype too! Let’s take a look back over at UFC 304’s best performances and techniques:

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Muhammad Grinds His Way To Gold

Belal Muhammad really lived up to his pre-fight promises.

He took the fight to Leon Edwards from the first bell. There was no waiting around to get high kicked at range. Instead, he pressed with good combinations and surprisingly fast jabs to work Edwards to the fence, where his double leg proved wildly powerful. Time and time again, he was able to run through the former champion with powerful double legs, including one spike in the second round that could have easily put “Rocky” to sleep.

Once on the mat, the fight wasn’t all that fun, but Muhammad did what was necessary to control Edwards. He even advanced position and took the back several times. It was a clear-cut, dominant win for Muhammad, and he never looked to be in too much trouble at any point in the 25-minute contest.

On the flip side, this was a poor showing from Edwards. For a couple minutes in the first round, Edwards looked like his usual sniper self, ripping left kicks, knees, and combinations. Outside of that small period, however, Edwards routinely let himself be walked into the fence and just couldn’t seem to wake up for more than brief moments. The flurry of elbows in the final 30 seconds of the fight was nice, but it was far too little and far too late.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Too Fast, Too Powerful

If somebody goes back and counts the strikes landed in the first 45 seconds of Curtis Blaydes vs. Tom Aspinall, “Razor” was probably ahead. He landed a couple stiff shots and was active with his hands, but the simple difference in hand speed and power was monumental.

When Aspinall did land, everyone felt it. A seriously powerful jab floored Blaydes in an instant, and there’s no recovering when a hyper athletic, 260-pound beast is wailing away. The referee was forced to intervene at just the 60-second mark, and thus, Aspinall secured the first defense of his interim title.

How can Jon Jones argue that he should fight anyone else with a straight face?

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Pimblett Brings Manchester Back To Life

UFC 304 really needed Paddy Pimblett vs. Bobby Green to deliver. Specifically, the fatigued Manchester crowd desperately needed some entertainment after seven straight fights going to a decision. Some of those fights were good, sure, but by 5 A.M. the fans were getting a little desperate.

Love him or hate him, Pimblett delivered. His walkout woke the crowd back up, then his actual performance was surprisingly ... great? Pimblett, looking a weight class bigger than Green, established range really well with his footwork and kicks. He didn’t walk into straight shots or give Green an easy target. Which Green tried to press him, Pimblett kept his composure and showed counters to back him off.

“King” tried to adjust with a takedown attempt ... and immediately landed in two submissions! Pimblett’s guard has always been one of his best assets, and that dangerous submission game was on display here. Green hasn’t been submitted since 2009 and has fought plenty of black belts in the last 15 years, so it’s quite a feather in Pimblett’s cap.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Allen Pressures The Kicker

Arnold Allen put on a textbook display of how to fight an excellent kicker.

It’s not easy to pressure a man like Giga Chikadze. The guy fires his shin like its a shotgun, and he reacts to aggression with combinations of power punches. Actually, his jab looked especially sharp in this match up too. Allen was forced to walk through all of the above in pursuit of the pocket, and subsequently, he took a good bit of damage in the first five minutes.

It paid off, however. It’s exhausting to run around the outside of the Octagon and blast power kicks. When Chikadze’s feet started slowing just a bit, he was more willing to exchange with Allen. That’s where Allen’s piston of a left hand shined through, busting the nose of Chikadze and slowly shifting the momentum into the “Almighty” corner.

By the third, Allen was straight up teeing off on Chikadze, who didn’t look nearly as crisp or threatening. Given another round or two, the Englishman may have been able to force a finish. As it stands, he scores a much-needed win and proves that he’s still a top-tier Featherweight contender.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Manel Kape vs. Muhmmad Mokaev

was awful. I’ve seen worse fights (barely), but I cannot remember one more annoying. All the pre-fight antics and build up for an absolute nothingburger? Pitiful. Honestly, all of the televised ESPN “Prelims” were somewhat underwhelming compared to the earliest portion of the card, but this was particularly bad.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Additional Thoughts

• Modestas Bukauskas defeats Marcin Prachnio via third-round arm triangle choke: This was a really fun fight! Bukauskas consistently demonstrated that he was the better, more technical fighter, but Prachnio never gave up and kept trying to force a chance in momentum. The Polish striker landed some heavy kicks — including a sneaky close-range high kick! — but Bukauskas won the majority of the exchanges with some heavy shots upstairs, and he proved himself the better grappler repeatedly. Really, the final exchange was a good microcosm of the whole fight: Prachnio sprinted towards Bukauskas to land some wild shots, but he still couldn’t stop the Lithuanian from taking him down and scoring a strangle moments later. Since returning to the UFC, Bukauskas is 3-1 and could be knocking on the door of the Top 15.
• Sam Patterson defeats Kiefer Crosbie via first-round arm triangle choke (highlights): This was a rout. Crosbie looked small for 170-pounds, and he didn’t find much success in denying Patterson’s takedowns. Once on top, Patterson advanced position and attacked the neck quickly, giving a nice demonstration of how to finish an arm-triangle choke properly.
• Mick Parkin defeats Lukasz Brzeski via first-round knockout (highlights): Parkin got the night started off right! In his fourth straight UFC win, Parkin boxed up Brzeski, sticking him with hard jabs then building combinations and catching his opponent’s head high up. A training partner of Aspinall, Parkin has genuinely fast hands for a Heavyweight, and his boxing helps him stand out from the Heavyweight pack. Perhaps he’s ready for a ranked opponent next?

For complete UFC 304: “Edwards vs. Muhammad” results and play-by-play, click HERE!