UFC returns to the UK on Saturday for UFC 304. The card is headlined by two championship bouts featuring some of the sport's most talented fighters, including welterweight champion Leon Edwards, who will be defending his title against Belal Muhammad in the main event.
Local favorite Edwards and Muhammed will face off in a rematch of their 2021 bout, which ended prematurely after Edwards accidentally poked himself in the eye. Both fighters held long unbeaten records, with Edwards ultimately earning the title and Muhammed the chance to get revenge and become world champion.
The co-main event was a rematch of a bout that ended prematurely, with Tom Aspinall defending his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes. The first bout ended in just 15 seconds, with Aspinall landing a leg kick only to injure his knee when he returned to his feet on the floor.
There's a lot going on Saturday night, so before we get into our staff's predictions and PPV division predictions, let's take a closer look at the full fight card with the latest odds.
UFC 304 fight card, odds
- Leon Edwards (c) -260 vs. Belal Muhammad +210 for the welterweight title
- Tom Aspinall (ic) -370 vs. Curtis Blaydes +290 for the interim heavyweight title
- King Green -120 vs. Paddy Pimblett +100, lightweight
- Christian Leroy Duncan -150 vs. Gregory Rodriguez +125, middleweight
- Arnold Allen -250 vs. Giga Chikadze +20, featherweight
- Nathaniel Wood -425 vs. Daniel Pineda +330, featherweight
- Molly McCann -360 vs. Bruna Brasil +280, women's strawweight
- Caolan Laughlin vs. Jake Hadley, bantamweight
- Modestas Bukauskas -160 vs. Marcin Prachnio +135, light heavyweight
- Preston Parsons -140 vs. Oban Elliott +120, welterweight
- Muhammad Mokaev -140 vs. Manel Kape +120, flyweight
- Sam Patterson -350 vs. Kieffer Crosby +275, welterweight
- Mick Parkin -280 vs. Lukasz Brzeski +230, heavyweight
- Shauna Bannon -180 vs. Alice Ardelien +155, Women's Strawweight
With such a big main event scheduled, the staff at CBS Sports has gone ahead and made their predictions and selections for the main card. The selections were made by: Brent Brookhouse (Martial Arts Writer), Brian Campbell (Martial Arts Writer), Shakiel Majli (Writer), Michael Molmile (Producer) and Brandon Wise (Senior Editor).
UFC 304 picks, predictions
| Edwards (c) vs. Muhammad | Edwards | Edwards | Edwards | Edwards | Edwards |
| Aspinall (ic) v. Blades | Aspinall | Aspinall | Aspinall | Aspinall | Aspinall |
| Green v Pimblett | Pimblett | Pimblett | green | green | Pimblett |
| Duncan vs. Rodriguez | Rodriguez | Duncan | Rodriguez | Rodriguez | Duncan |
| Allen vs Chikaze | Allen | Allen | Allen | Allen | Chikaze |
Edwards vs. Muhammad
Campbell: What Muhammad lacks in name recognition, he more than makes up for in intangibles. He has better cardiovascular fitness, better grappling skills than Edwards, and a hard-won source of confidence that comes from years of being overlooked at the elite level. Make no mistake, this will be a close fight, and likely to the end. But as long as he can prevent Muhammad from controlling him on the ground — in the same way he has successfully done over the last few fights against Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington — this is a fight Edwards should win. It seems inevitable that this fight will be close and competitive, but Edwards' speed, athleticism, and explosiveness advantages over Muhammad should be enough to give him a run for his money.
Brookhouse: This fight will not be close, nor will it go all the way to the end. Edwards is simply the better fighter, and was the case the first time they met. The fight ended with Edwards leading 19-8 with significant striking. Edwards' confidence is only growing, and I think he can tire Muhammad out in the 5th round and finish him, despite not being the best finisher on the roster. Muhammad will try to force the action, get hit too often, and eventually hit something that will hurt him.
Majuli: Edwards is well prepared for Muhammad's arsenal. Muhammad and Kamaru Usman favor similar paths to victory by wrestling to overpower and control their opponents. Usman is arguably the better wrestler and has the advantage of striking power. Edwards proved to be better prepared to contain takedown threats and much smoother in the stand-up, especially in his third bout with Usman. We got a short sample of Edwards vs. Muhammad in 2021. Edwards was leading the dance until he was poked in the eye and called it a no contest. Both fighters improved a lot, but I don't think Muhammad closed the gap. Muhammad might win a round or two, but I think Edwards will get the judges' nod. Edwards wins by unanimous decision.
Aspinall vs. Blades
Campbell: The only blemish on Aspinall's eight-fight journey at UFC was his loss to Blaydes in 2022. Just 15 seconds into the bout, the British native suffered a serious knee injury. Nearly a year after his injury, Aspinall not only returned, but looked as explosive and dynamic as ever with back-to-back early wins over Marcin Tybura and Sergey Pavlovic, the latter of whom earned him the interim UFC heavyweight championship. Blaydes remains an elite test for heavyweights looking to enter title contention, and all three times he looked poised to make a push to the top, his title hopes were brutally dashed by knockout. If Blaydes could beat Aspinall, he could be successful, and he shouldn't be taken lightly in this matchup, but Aspinall has too many ways to end the fight, and he's not going to lose his drive to prove he's the best heavyweight on the planet, regardless of whether full champion Jon Jones retires this fall without fighting him. I want him to beat Aspinall with a convincing knockout.
Brookhouse: Aspinall is more of a “if you could make a fighter in a lab” guy. He's big, fast, strong, has good hand speed and can grapple. Blaydes is a heavyweight with a lot of power and good wrestling, but Aspinall is well-rounded. The heavyweight division can be shaky, and if Blaydes were to throw his big punches, it would be a total mess, but that's not going to happen. Aspinall is too good on paper to let his guard down against a guy who has a very simple game plan: throw big punches and go for takedowns.
Majuli: It's always hard to call someone a fighter of the future, as fights are usually over in seconds or minutes, but it's hard to write Aspinall off. He seems to have it all: speed, power, and technique. UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, a boxing veteran, told CBS Sports that Aspinall has the fastest punch he's seen in the heavyweight division. Aspinall is also one of the smartest fighters in the division. Blaydes will have to get a takedown, but I've yet to see anyone take Aspinall down on the ground. There are also questions about Blaydes' striking defense and his ability to absorb Aspinall's power, especially after his easy loss to Sergey Pavlovich last year.
Green v Pimblett
Campbell: The 37-year-old Green has shown signs of a bit of a resurgence with three wins in his last four fights, and his combination of dangerous striking and stout takedown defense makes him the slight favorite in the betting. All of this makes a lot of sense considering how inconsistent the 29-year-old Pimbrett has been in his five UFC bouts. This is the fight that will define Pimbrett's early trajectory, and he must win this one to realize the bright crossover potential he first brought to the Octagon. Admittedly, there are many flaws remaining in Pimbrett's game. But he has a strong chin that can cover up for mistakes, and a natural ability to take his game to the next level when the stakes increase. Having been stopped three times in the past two years alone, Green often leaves too many openings given his reckless striking style, which involves putting his hands down and moving forward, trying to let his opponents get the first move. Here, Pimbrett can live up to the expectations and record the breakthrough finish he was hoping for.
Brookhouse: Green is a dangerous opponent for Pimblett. He is also the one UFC chose to face as they see him as a golden egg. Everyone knows Pimblett's weaknesses, and UFC matchmakers probably want to give him time to improve. That doesn't mean this is an easy fight for Pimblett, and he could easily lose to Green. Still, Green's weaknesses may be more of a problem than Pimblett's in this fight. Pimblett is fast, so he should be able to take advantage of Green's open nature. Pimblett could also land takedowns and dominate the fight on the ground.
Majuli: I have never been more intrigued to see Pimblett fight at the UFC. His competitiveness is still questionable given Pimblett's name recognition, but Green has him in the top 15 of the official UFC lightweight division. My hesitation is with Pimblett's striking defense. Pimblett is a dynamic threat with his striking and jiu-jitsu, but he lacks the aggressive wrestling to speed up his ground game. If the outcome of the fight hinges on landing a knockout or knockdown strike, I favor Green's deliberate hands-down style over Pimblett's bad habit of keeping his chin up and his hands low. At 37, Green is in his 50th pro fight against an opponent eight years his junior, but I think he has what it takes to beat Pimblett.
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