Tag: UFC 304

Leon Edwards “Ain’t got time for that Mickey Mouse business” Coach responds to Nate Diaz

Leon Edwards "Ain't got time for that Micky Mouse business" Coach responds to Nate DiazLeon Edwards has much bigger fish to fry. This Saturday night, July 27, ‘Rocky’ will return to the Octagon…

Leon Edwards "Ain't got time for that Micky Mouse business" Coach responds to Nate Diaz

Leon Edwards has much bigger fish to fry.

This Saturday night, July 27, ‘Rocky’ will return to the Octagon in his home country seeking a successful third defense of his welterweight world title. Standing in his way will be streaking division standout and the top-ranked contender at 170, Belal Muhammad.

Leon Edwards

Recently, Edwards found himself at the center of a callout from former foe and UFC fan favorite Nate Diaz after the TUF alumnus scored a majority decision victory over Jorge Masvidal in Anaheim.

“My main objective is to be the best fighter in the world so I wanna go back and get a UFC title. Leon Edwards, Jake Paul…You’re dead,” Diaz said.

Keeping his eyes on the task at hand, ‘Rocky’ hasn’t had much to say about Diaz’s comment, but Edwards’ coach, Dave Lovell, made it clear that the champ has more important things to worry about. Lovell also suggested that Diaz should have left the fight game a long time ago, citing all the punishment he’s absorbed over his two-decade-long run.

“It’s all a joke. Leon ain’t got time for that Micky Mouse business right now, bruv,” Lovell told Submission Radio. “Nate is making money still and fighting, but me personally I think he needs to leave the game alone. He’s taken a little bit too much punishment now…This guy’s got a life after fighting.”

Nate Diaz and Leon Edwards delivered an instant classic in their lone UFC meeting

Leon Edwards and Nate Diaz met once on MMA’s biggest stage, squaring off in a critically acclaimed clash at UFC 263 in March 2021. While ‘Rocky’ led the dance for the majority of the five-round affair, Diaz tagged Edwards late in the fifth round with a booming right hand that had the UK star stumbling.

Diaz poured it on for the final minute but was able to secure the finish and came up short on the scorecards.

Leon Edwards
Leon Edwards

Perhaps we’ll see the two run it back inside the Octagon once Leon Edwards’ days of reigning over the welterweight division are over.

Alexander Volkanovski Predicts UFC 304 headliner Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad

Alex Volkanovski Predicts UFC 304 headliner Leon Edwards vs. Belal MuhammadAfter a fairly timid performance against Colby Covington in his last outing, Alexander Volkanovski believes Leon Edwards is going…

Alex Volkanovski Predicts UFC 304 headliner Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad

After a fairly timid performance against Colby Covington in his last outing, Alexander Volkanovski believes Leon Edwards is going to let his hands go when he steps inside the Octagon this Saturday night.

Emanating from Co-op Live in Manchester, ‘Rocky’ will put his welterweight world title on the line against top-ranked contender Belal Muhammad in the UFC 304 headliner.

Leon Edwards

After bringing the belt back to the UK via his shocking “kick heard ’round the world” against Kamaru Usman at UFC 278, Edwards defended the crown against the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ in an entertaining trilogy bout before offering up a somewhat uninspired, albeit successful showing against the aforementioned Colby Covington.

This time around, former featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski believes ‘Rocky’ will be more likely to let his hands go, giving fans something to feast on as he performs in front of his home country for the first time since his threequel with Usman.

“I think [Leon Edwards] is gonna let his hands go, which is gonna make him a lot more dangerous,” Volkanovski said in a video on his YouTube channel. “‘Cause when he does let his hands go, he’s good. Leon Edwards is really good. Even just watching his training, hitting pads. You can see there’s power in his kicks.”

Both UFC gold and a couple of impressive unbeaten streaks are on the line between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad

Aside from UFC gold, a couple of long-standing win streaks will be on the line this Saturday night in the Capitol of the North. Leon Edwards enters the bout having won his last 12 fights dating back to a 2016 win over Dominic Waters.

Meanwhile, Belal Muhammad has built an impressive nine-fight win streak spanning the last five years. In his last four outings, he has bested Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, and Gilbert Burns — all members of the welterweight top 15 with Thompson, Brady, and Burns residing in the top 10.

belal muhammad

Their UFC 304 headliner will also serve as a rematch after their first meeting at a Fight Night event ended in the early moments of round two due to an inadvertent eye poke perpetrated by Edwards.

Leon Edwards vs. Belal

Tom Aspinall Describes Confidence Boost From Sergei Pavlovich Win Ahead Of UFC 304: ‘Took The Fight On Short Notice, Injured…’ 

Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall won’t be short on self-belief when he enters the cage for his first defense this weekend. Aspinall is set to co-headline the UFC 304 pay-per-view event in his home city of Manchester, England, on July 27. He’ll make the walk in the early hours in pursuit of a first […]

Continue Reading Tom Aspinall Describes Confidence Boost From Sergei Pavlovich Win Ahead Of UFC 304: ‘Took The Fight On Short Notice, Injured…’  at MMA News.

Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall won’t be short on self-belief when he enters the cage for his first defense this weekend.

Aspinall is set to co-headline the UFC 304 pay-per-view event in his home city of Manchester, England, on July 27. He’ll make the walk in the early hours in pursuit of a first title defense and redemption opposite the man against whom he suffered his sole Octagon setback to date.

The Brit briefly shared the cage with Curtis Blaydes in London two years ago, with their UFC Fight Night main event lasting just 15 seconds before Aspinall suffered a freak knee injury.

The 31-year-old has now been presented with the chance to right that wrong, and given the manner with which he captured UFC gold last November, he’s extremely confident in his chances of doing so…

Aspinall Full Of Self-Belief After Pulling Off UFC Title Win In ‘Worst Circumstances’

During a recent interview with Karyn Bryant, Rashad Evans, and Alan Jouban for ESPN MMA, Aspinall looked ahead to his upcoming defense of the interim title and second dance in the cage with Blaydes.

When it comes to his evolution as a fighter since their first clash in 2022, Aspinall believes the differences are night and day. That includes when it comes to confidence, in large part down to how the Brit was able to dispatch Sergei Pavlovich in less than ideal circumstances eight months ago.

“(I’ve improved) absolutely everywhere (since the first fight against Blaydes),” Aspinall said. “Every fight is different anyway, but I think now, everything is way different about me. Especially after my last performance; I took so much confidence from that. I took the fight on short notice, I took the fight injured, and I still managed to pull it off in the worst circumstances. Feeling pretty confident after that one, feeling pretty good.”

Aspinall will look to prove as much by having his hand raised on home soil this Saturday, avenging his unfortunate setback opposite “Razor” and maintaining his grip on the interim heavyweight gold in the process.

His defense will mark the first of two championship rematches set for UFC 304, with fellow UK titleholder Leon Edwards running it back with Belal Muhammad in defense of his welterweight strap.

Continue Reading Tom Aspinall Describes Confidence Boost From Sergei Pavlovich Win Ahead Of UFC 304: ‘Took The Fight On Short Notice, Injured…’  at MMA News.

Tom Aspinall Describes Confidence Boost From Sergei Pavlovich Win Ahead Of UFC 304: ‘Took The Fight On Short Notice, Injured…’ 

Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall won’t be short on self-belief when he enters the cage for his first defense this weekend. Aspinall is set to co-headline the UFC 304 pay-per-view event in his home city of Manchester, England, on July 27. He’ll make the walk in the early hours in pursuit of a first […]

Continue Reading Tom Aspinall Describes Confidence Boost From Sergei Pavlovich Win Ahead Of UFC 304: ‘Took The Fight On Short Notice, Injured…’  at MMA News.

Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall won’t be short on self-belief when he enters the cage for his first defense this weekend.

Aspinall is set to co-headline the UFC 304 pay-per-view event in his home city of Manchester, England, on July 27. He’ll make the walk in the early hours in pursuit of a first title defense and redemption opposite the man against whom he suffered his sole Octagon setback to date.

The Brit briefly shared the cage with Curtis Blaydes in London two years ago, with their UFC Fight Night main event lasting just 15 seconds before Aspinall suffered a freak knee injury.

The 31-year-old has now been presented with the chance to right that wrong, and given the manner with which he captured UFC gold last November, he’s extremely confident in his chances of doing so…

Aspinall Full Of Self-Belief After Pulling Off UFC Title Win In ‘Worst Circumstances’

During a recent interview with Karyn Bryant, Rashad Evans, and Alan Jouban for ESPN MMA, Aspinall looked ahead to his upcoming defense of the interim title and second dance in the cage with Blaydes.

When it comes to his evolution as a fighter since their first clash in 2022, Aspinall believes the differences are night and day. That includes when it comes to confidence, in large part down to how the Brit was able to dispatch Sergei Pavlovich in less than ideal circumstances eight months ago.

“(I’ve improved) absolutely everywhere (since the first fight against Blaydes),” Aspinall said. “Every fight is different anyway, but I think now, everything is way different about me. Especially after my last performance; I took so much confidence from that. I took the fight on short notice, I took the fight injured, and I still managed to pull it off in the worst circumstances. Feeling pretty confident after that one, feeling pretty good.”

Aspinall will look to prove as much by having his hand raised on home soil this Saturday, avenging his unfortunate setback opposite “Razor” and maintaining his grip on the interim heavyweight gold in the process.

His defense will mark the first of two championship rematches set for UFC 304, with fellow UK titleholder Leon Edwards running it back with Belal Muhammad in defense of his welterweight strap.

Continue Reading Tom Aspinall Describes Confidence Boost From Sergei Pavlovich Win Ahead Of UFC 304: ‘Took The Fight On Short Notice, Injured…’  at MMA News.

“Nice to get beaten up by the GOAT” Modestas Bukauskas on training with Jon Jones

"Nice to get beaten up by the GOAT" Modestas Bukauskas on training with Jon JonesModestas Bukauskas can’t put a price on the time he spent training with Jon Jones. Stepping back inside the…

"Nice to get beaten up by the GOAT" Modestas Bukauskas on training with Jon Jones

Modestas Bukauskas can’t put a price on the time he spent training with Jon Jones.

Stepping back inside the Octagon this Saturday night for the UFC’s highly anticipated return to the UK, ‘The Baltic Gladiator’ will square off with Polish standout Marcin Prachnio. Bukauskas will be looking to climb back into the win column after seeing his four-fight win streak snapped by the hands of Vitor Petrino in November.

Modestas Bukauskas

Before kicking off the festivities at Co-op Live in Manchester, Bukauskas spoke with Calf Kick Sports about his extensive experience training with the consensus GOAT of mixed martial arts.

“Every day for like 10 weeks, rounds and rounds and rounds,” Bukauskas said. “When I was 22, I was 4-0 as a pro and I had a sponsor at the time so I went to Albuquerque and the first time, I got to train with Andrei Arlovski and the second time I came around, Jon Jones was there. He had heard from the managers there that I’m a really good striker and he should do some rounds with [me].

“He’s a really cool guy. We ended up doing a load of rounds together. Literally every day with did jiu-jitsu rounds, wrestling, and MMA. It was amazing that I was able to get that opportunity to train and witness the greatest of all time. He really is a nice guy. He was very helpful and very welcoming as well. It was nice to get those rounds in and it gave me the confidence in myself that I’m training with the best in the world. It was definitely a sign of things to come in the future.”

Having dominated the light heavyweight division for more than a decade, Jon Jones made the move to heavyweight after a three-year-long layoff and quickly dispatched the top-ranked contender, Ciryl Gane, at UFC 285 to take home the vacant heavyweight crown.

“If you’re gonna get beaten up by someone, it might as well be the greatest of all time,” Bukauskas added. “We had some good rounds.”

Modestas Bukauskas shocked by how strong Jon Jones’ wrestling really is

Though Jones is known best for his world-class striking skills, Bukauskas was shocked to find out just how good ‘Bones’ is on the mat, noting that once the undisputed heavyweight champion gets his hands on you, it’s hard as hell to break free.

“His wrestling is next level. I knew it was good, but I didn’t realize how good it was. He’s very strong in those positions. If he gets a grip on you, it’s hard to get out. There’s different types of strength and he’s definitely got that wrestling strength for sure.”

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Jones Jones has not competed since his two-minute submission victory over Gane in May 2023. Originally, he was set to defend the heavyweight title against two-time champion Stipe Miocic late last year, but a torn pectoral muscle forced him to bow out of the bout.

No official announcements have been made, but all signs point toward Jones vs. Miocic finally going down at UFC 309 on November 9 when the promotion makes its annual pit spot in Madison Square Garden.

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Belal Muhammad Downplays UFC 304 Opponent Leon Edwards’ Résumé: ‘To Get The Title Fight, He Fought Nothing But Lightweights!’

UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad thinks his path to the belt was a lot tougher than champion Leon Edwards’. The pair are set to headline this weekend’s UFC 304 pay-per-view event inside the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England, where Muhammad will look to upset the home fans by ripping the 170-pound title from “Rocky’s” […]

Continue Reading Belal Muhammad Downplays UFC 304 Opponent Leon Edwards’ Résumé: ‘To Get The Title Fight, He Fought Nothing But Lightweights!’ at MMA News.

UFC welterweight contender Belal Muhammad thinks his path to the belt was a lot tougher than champion Leon Edwards’.

The pair are set to headline this weekend’s UFC 304 pay-per-view event inside the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England, where Muhammad will look to upset the home fans by ripping the 170-pound title from “Rocky’s” grasp.

Since their first fight ended in a No Contest over three years ago, Edwards has worked his way to the gold and subsequently defended it successfully twice to date. “Remember the Name,” meanwhile, has extended his unbeaten run to 10 with five straight wins over Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, and Gilbert Burns.

That run has left many branding Muhammad the clear number one contender, and some even calling him the most deserving challenger in UFC history. Edwards, however, seemingly hasn’t been too impressed and recently downplayed some of his opponent’s results.

Unsurprisingly, Muhammad has returned the favor…

Muhammad Insists He Boasts Tougher Strength Of Schedule Than Edwards

During a recent interview with Kevin Iole, Muhammad looked ahead to his long-awaited first opportunity at achieving champion status on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage.

The #2-ranked welterweight had his attention turned to Edwards’ remarks about his winning run and fired back in kind, suggesting that “Rocky” fought nothing but 155lbers to secure his 2022 title shot.

“When I look at his résumé for him to get the title fight, he fought nothing but lightweights,” Muhammad said. “Donald Cerrone, RDA, Nate Diaz. Like, okay? Look at the guys that I beat, when I beat them. Gilbert Burns was on a two-fight winning streak. Luque was on a five or six-fight winning streak when I beat him. Sean Brady was on a 15-fight winning streak when I beat him. ‘Wonderboy’ was like 3-1 out of his last four fights when I beat him. Demian Maia was like 3-1…

“He can say whatever he wants, but I know what I had to do to fight those guys,” Muhammad continued. “And when I trained for those guys, every single one of those camps I picked up something different, right, because I had to train for a grappler, then I had to train for a striker, then I had to train for a guy who knocked me out before. Every single one of those guys, every single one of those camps, I evolved as a fighter. … I fought the best version of them and I got the best version of myself out of it.”

Muhammad will look to demonstrate that evolution since the unfortunate ending to his and Edwards’ first clash when they run it back in Manchester this weekend.

And when it comes to achieving that feat, “Remember the Name” isn’t short on confidence. The challenger has vowed to unseat “Rocky” inside the distance, with him and his manager claiming he won’t even require the championship rounds at UFC 304.

Continue Reading Belal Muhammad Downplays UFC 304 Opponent Leon Edwards’ Résumé: ‘To Get The Title Fight, He Fought Nothing But Lightweights!’ at MMA News.