UFC 304 Fight Card: PPV Schedule, Odds and Predictions for Edwards vs Muhammad 2

Leon Edwards will defend his welterweight crown against Belal Muhammad on home soil when the UFC heads to Manchester, England for UFC 304 Saturday night.

The British champion will run back his 2021 encounter with Belal Muhammad which was ended early due to an eye poke. Both men have only raised their stock since that night. Edwards elevated himself to champion with wins over Nate Diaz, Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.

Meanwhile, Muhammad has ripped off five consecutive wins since then over Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady and Gilbert Burns.

It's a matchup of two of the best fighters in the division with championship gold on the line. The heavyweight division will be on display in the co-main event with Tom Aspinall fighting Curtis Blaydes for the interim heavyweight championship.

Here's a look at the complete card along with betting lines and a preview of the two featured bouts.

UFC 304 Fight Card, Schedule and Odds

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Bobby King Green will fight Paddy Pimblett on the main card.

Tickets: Vivid Seats

Main Card (ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET)

• Leon Edwards (c) (-250) vs. Belal Muhammad (+205) – for welterweight title
• Tom Aspinall (ic) (-395) vs. Curtis Blaydes (+310) – for interim heavyweight title
• King Green (-115) vs. Paddy Pimblett (-105)
• Christian Leroy Duncan (-130) vs. Gregory Rodrigues (+110)
• Arnold Allen (-225) vs. Giga Chikadze (+185)

Prelims (ESPN2/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET)

• Daniel Pineda (+320) vs. Nathaniel Wood (-410)
• Bruna Brasil (+280) vs. Molly McCann (-355)
• Jake Hadley (+180) vs. Caolan Loughran (-218)
• Modestas Bukauskas (-148) vs. Marcin Prachnio (+124)

Early Prelims (ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET)

• Oban Elliott (+124) vs. Preston Parsons (-148)
• Manel Kape (+145) vs. Muhammad Mokaev (-175)
• Kiefer Crosbie (+320) vs. Sam Patterson (-410)
• Lukasz Brzeski (+280) vs. Mick Parkin (-355)
• Alice Ardelean (+154) vs. Shauna Bannon (-185)

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook

Edwards vs. Muhammad

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Leon Edwards

Belal Muhammad has waited a long time for this opportunity. In many cases, a No Contest due to an eye poke would result in an immediate rematch. Yet, Muhammad had to wait three years.

Most of the time a fighter doesn't go on a 10-fight unbeaten streak in the UFC before finally getting a title shot. Yet here we are.

Muhammad has been passed over mutliple times. His fighting style is probably the reason why. Muhammad's success comes from a relentless wrestling game that controls opponents. He only has two finishes in his last 10 fights.

The bad news for him is that Edwards has grown accusomted to fighting great wrestlers. Both Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington lost to Edwards and there isn't much that the 36-year-old Muhammad has to offer that Edwards hasn't already seen in his three title fights.

Edwards is going to have home field advantage, experience against better grapplers and has an even longer unbeaten streak going for him. He'll find a way to fend off Muhammad's advances, land strikes consistently and convince the judges that he's the better fighter.

Prediction: Edwards via decision

Aspinall vs. Blaydes

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Curtis Blaydes and Tom Aspinall

Leon Edwards is going to get his time to shine in front of his home country, but the UFC is clearly teeing up a great night for Tom Aspinall too. He gets the chance to avenge one of the only losses of his career and set up a title fight with the winner of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic.

Curtis Blaydes is a formidable foe, though. His wrestling is a tough task for anyone to overcome and his combination of size and strength make him a threat for just about anyone.

At the same time, Blaydes has struggled against the biggest punchers in the division. His losses to Francis Ngannou, Derrick Lewis and Sergei Pavolovich show that his wrestling can be quickly negated by big punchers who find his chin.

Not only can Aspinall do that, but he also has some grappling chops of his own. He has three submission wins and can hold his own on the mat.

There is a distinct possibility that we see an upset here. Aspinall is a big favorite, but his knee injury 15 seconds into his bout with Blaydes robbed us of seeing him beat this test before. He holds some wins agianst wrestlers but none as good as Blaydes.

Ultimately, there's a good chance he proves he'll do just fine by landing a big shot that changes the fight and sets up a massive fight with Jones for the undisputed title.

Prediction: Aspinall via second-round TKO