UFC 303 just ended and we’re already casting views towards the next blockbuster event on July 27th at UFC 304 from the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. With less than one month to go, this is the way every MMA fan sees future fighting. The UFC 304 will mark the return of the greatest fighting franchise to the land of the United Kingdom. For fans of the UK fighting styles, this will be a treat as many local fighters will take the stage. The focus will, of course, be on the main show which is the duels of heavyweight and welterweight champions.
UFC 304 Location and Date
The excitement is growing, and we can’t wait for the end of July to finally enjoy the UK edition of UFC 304. The event is scheduled for the last weekend of the month, and it will be held on the 27th of July. The venue is no other than Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. This modern arena will be a home for UFC fighters for the first time. At the same time, the city of Manchester has this honor for the second time since in the last decade as it was the home for UFC 204 some eight-odd years back in 2016.
The Fighters We Wait to See at UFC 304
There will be plenty of good fights and fighters we’re looking for to see at UFC 304. When you see some of the names, it will be much easier to make your UFC picks for your next betting slip on leading online sportsbooks like Stake.com. Let’s start with the biggest star of the upcoming evening.
Leon Edwards
Edwards doesn’t have too much to prove in his upcoming fight. After defeating Kamaru Usman for the welterweight belt in what many see as the most dramatic fight in his career, he’s at the top of the world. The division is his to be lost, but we don’t believe that’s what’s on the table. Why? Well, he managed to defend his title twice and is currently on one of the most impressive runs in the world of MMA with twelve consecutive wins. His adversary in the next bout will be Belal Muhammed and the two know each other very well. Their last fight was interrupted early and deemed as no contest due to an eye poke. This time around we expect the fighters to put on a show and both are seen as favorite UFC betting picks by bettors and bookies alike.
Tom Aspinall
When we look at what Britain has to offer in the fighting domain we can’t look past Tom Aspinall. He is a placeholder and a rising heavyweight star at the same time, and the interim title belongs to him after the win against Sergei Pavlovich. The next bout is scheduled against Curtis Blaydes and it’s yet another chance for a title defense. What many see as the top challenge for Tom is the fight with Jon Jones, but the latter has been avoiding this duel for a while now.
Paddy Pimblett
While at certain aspects of his persona, and we’re talking microphone antics, Paddy has been compared to a WWE superstar, no one can deny his pure skill. The main star of the lightweight division, Pimblett is on an impressive five-win streak now. If you’ve been following him closely, you know that he even managed to snatch a win against no other than Tony Ferguson. The next man standing in line to take Pimblett is another UFC old-schooler Bobby Green who is the only man standing between Paddy and top-15 ranking.
Muhammed Mokaev
When we look at the next big thing in the world of MMA we can’t look past Muhammed Mokaev. This fighter is on the rise that we haven’t seen in recent times and his 12:0 score is a testament to his already massive greatness. While some argue that his reliance on wrestling is a tad bit boring, we beg to disagree. His top-notch wrestling has been a breath of fresh air in the UFC and none of his four of the last six wins by submission can be deemed as underserved. We have plenty to look for in his next bout, and Manel Kape should be looking to work on his submission defense.
Fight Card and Betting Odds
UFC 304 already promises so much with the scheduled bouts. We can only hope that there will not be as many cancellations as we have witnessed for UFC 303. The way things stand now these are the biggest draws at the upcoming tournament.
Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad
Let’s look at the main event first. If you want to bet on UFC online this is not a duel you want to skip. These two fighters have a joint history, and we expect plenty of their upcoming duel. One can easily argue that Leon Edwards is the hot favorite right now as he is the title holder and has defended it twice against both Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington. His combination of high-end grappling, sturdy takedown defense, and hard hits is what took him on the ongoing twelve-win hot streak. Their last duel ended prematurely, so we can only hope that both have stored their best performances for UFC 304.
Belal will be looking to make his mark on Edwards and he’s heading into this duel in top form after notching up five wins in the last five matches. Despite good form, Muhammad is still seen as an outsider for this bout as he has the reigning champion on the other side of the octagon. Also, despite his impressive career he never managed to win a match by a KO. If you believe that a surprise might be on the cards look at Stake odds and make a bet on Belal to win by KO/TKO as it pays quite well.
Tom Aspinall vs Curtis Blaydes
The duel between Aspinall and Blaydes is seen as the co-main event of the UFC 304 evening. It is deservedly portrayed like that because these two men will put on a show for the fans without a doubt. The heavyweight division was never more interesting and these two have a score to settle. If you can recall their last bout ended early on in the first round after Aspinall’s knee injury.
Everyone’s in to make the upcoming duel last much longer, but no one should expect a slugfest. After all, Tom has never allowed a fight to reach the stages where the judges must make a decision. As of now, all his fights ended with KO/TKO or submission. Due to this and the form of both fighters, he is seen as a hot favorite by every major booking outlet. Add the home crowd to the mix, and you get the point why Tom might have an additional motive.
While Aspinall is favored to win, no one should write off Blaydes. If you like a good underdog story you will put your hopes into his wrestling ability. So far in his career, Curtis only lost four of his bouts. Each of these four losses was either direct knockouts or was interrupted by doctors. This is what happens when you wrestle with your chin out in the open right before a takedown. Blaydes vs. Aspinall promises plenty and all that’s left is for these two to deliver.
Bobby Green vs. Paddy Pimblett
This is one of those bouts that already has plenty of drama surrounding it. Both fighters have been strong on the mic and have not been holding back their words coming up to this duel. After UFC 300 Green has been calling out Paddy. He has plenty behind his back to talk big as he won three of his last four matches defeating Tony Ferguson, Grant Dawson, and Jim Miller while being knocked out by Jalin Turner.
His recent stretch might not mean too much for Pimblett who has a 5:0 score within the UFC and a 21:3 in his MMA career. At the moment he has seven consecutive wins. Just like Green he also managed to win against Tony Ferguson in December of last year at UFC 296. As you can see, we have two equally matched fighters here and while Green is the slight favorite right now, no one should bet too much against Paddy.
Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev
Manel Kape had an interesting start to his UFC career. The man has lost two of his first matches only to come back strong and win four consecutive after that. So far, he has managed to knock out Osbourne and Zhumagulov while judges decided in his favor against Dvorak and Dos Santos. While his UFC career was resurrected in his most recent bouts, Mokaev never had any of these issues.
Muhammad Mokaev has one of the cleanest scoreboards in the UFC standing at an impressive 6:0. In his entire MMA career he never lost a bout. The king of submission usually wins his matches by submitting opponents and you can expect the same this time around from this high-end wrestler. Despite his impressive record, he will enter this match as a slight underdog. Despite what the odds will tell you, we believe that his style will be a close match to what Kape brings to the table and that another win will bring Mokaev to the lucky 13-win number.
Above we have singled out some of the matches that will be headlining UFC 304. But don’t think that that’s everything. Below we have some of the other matches worth your attention. While we won’t be covering them in detail this time around, you should pay attention and bet on the following duels too:
- Arnold Allen vs Giga Chikadze
- Modestas Bukauskas vs Marcin Prachnio
- Arnold Allen vs Giga Chikadze
- Modestas Bukauskas vs Marcin Prachnio
- Nathaniel Wood vs Daniel Pineda
How to Bet on MMA and Competitions Like UFC 304
While we deem betting on MMA as an easy-to-go activity, let us still explain to you the easiest way to do it. In a few short steps, you will be close to betting and even closer to winning. This is how it goes:
- Open an account with a trustworthy and reliable outlet such as Stake. Choose one of the payment methods they provide and make your initial deposit.
- Ensure that you fully understand terms and conditions. Once you do, head to their promotions page and see if your deposit and newly opened account qualify you for a promotion or a bonus.
- Go to the MMA/UFC page and select the matches you want to bet on. Within the side menu, you will find the betting odds for each match.
- If this is your first-time betting online, spend some time reading the online betting guide provided by the majority of reliable websites that excel in online betting.
- Pick your matches, combine the odds, and form your first slip. Choose the amount you want to put forth, make a bet, and start waiting for your matches to start.
Betting online on MMA is quite straightforward. Once you put behind the technical aspects of creating a betting account everything else is an open round. Yet, if this is your first-time betting on fighting sports, you need to know what types of bets UFC usually covers. This is what usually goes on a betting slip:
- Match winner
- 1×2
- Asian total
- Winning method
- Winning method (double chance)
- Winner & exact rounds
- The fight going the distance
As you can see, it is nothing too complicated. After all, how difficult can two men fighting three or five rounds go? Not too much if you ask us. Either way, with everything there is to know about UFC 304 and the odds and picks we’ve provided you should be more than prepared for the July 27th outing.