Paddy Pimblett spoke out on his viral bus shouting match with UFC up-and-comer Caolán Loughran during UFC 304 fight…
Paddy Pimblett spoke out on his viral bus shouting match with UFC up-and-comer Caolán Loughran during UFC 304 fight week.
Pimblett defeated UFC lightweight veteran King Green on the UFC 304 main card on Saturday in Manchester. He extended his ongoing win streak and remains unbeaten in his UFC tenure following the victory over Green.
After a back-and-forth first few minutes of the bout, Pimblett slept Green in an arm-triangle choke to secure his sixth UFC victory. He signed with the promotion in 2021 and has become one of the top stars in the lightweight division.
Ahead of his UFC 304 showcase, video footage spread online of Pimblett getting into a heated back-and-forth with Loughran en route to the UFC 304 ceremonial weigh-in. While the incident never turned physical, the two shared a heated war of words that went viral.
Paddy Pimblett and Caolan Loughran trade barbs on the fighter bus.
“He just stood up and started chatting s***,” Pimblett said. “I was sitting at the back of the bus speaking to someone and I just said ‘Oh, Jordan Vucenic’s been signed? Another Cage Warriors fighter?’. He’s very good…it’s funny how Jordan Vucenic and Morgan Charriere have been signed and Paul Hughes is fighting in the PFL in the B-Leagues…
“He stood up and went ‘Paul Hughes would smoke you!’. Lad, who are you talking to?” Pimblett continued. “People made a big deal out of that like I was trying to bully him. He started it. If you’re gonna start something with me, be prepared to finish it, because I’ll put you in your place, it’s as simple as that. Talking s*** about my teammates last week, so I’m gonna put him in his place and that’s what I did. It’s one of those people trying to start s*** with me for a little publicity.”
As of this writing, Loughran hasn’t provided further comment on the incident with Pimblett. He lost to Jake Hadley by unanimous decision at UFC 304.
Pimblett has earned recent wins over Tony Ferguson, Jared Gordon, and Jordan Leavitt in the UFC. He’ll likely enter the lightweight Top 15 this week following the victory over Green.
Pimblett and PFL star Paul Hughes have gone back and forth on social media for months. His comments about Hughes seemed to be the main catalyst for the verbal altercation with Loughran.
After UFC 304, there’s no love between Pimblett, Hughes and Loughran. Despite their similar career paths, Pimblett holds no respect for two of his former Cage Warriors colleagues.
Despite his unanimous decision win over bitter-enemy, Manel Kape at UFC 304 overnight, unbeaten flyweight star, Muhammad Mokaev is…
Despite his unanimous decision win over bitter-enemy, Manel Kape at UFC 304 overnight, unbeaten flyweight star, Muhammad Mokaev is stunningly set to receive his walking papers from the promotion, according to CEO, Dana White.
Mokaev, who improved to 13-0(1) as a professional overnight, turned in his seventh straight Octagon victory in a close, unanimous judging win over Kape in the pair’s grudge fight title-eliminator in Manchester.
Battling back-and-forth with the Angolan-born fighter following a public spat during fight week which included a mass brawl at the fighter hotel, as well as the cancelling of a ceremonial weigh in face off, Mokaev landed a win over the former – however, received criticizm for his gunshy performance, as well as a slew of fouls committed.
Following the win, Mokaev revealed he had completed his contractual obligations with the organization, and stunningly claimed that matchmakers had told him they would not be interested in resigning him to a deal unless he skirted away from a wrestling-heavy approach.
Muhammad Mokaev set to miss out on new UFC contract
Reacting to Mokaev’s claims, promotional boss, White confirmed his contract had expired, and claimed the UFC would likely allow him to compete elsewhere – for a multitude of reasons behind the scenes.
“I’m sure one of the matchmakers said something to him (Muhammad Mokaev) or whatever,” Dana White told assembled media after UFC 304. “The matchmakers aren’t big fans of his for many different reasons. There’s a lot of people who shoot takedowns in this business, a lot of guys that fight with that type of style. But it’s a lot more than just that.”
“He’s not under contract anymore,” White said of Mokaev. “I think the PFL’s going to get a great undefeated guy. Good luck to him.”
Are you surprised to see Muhammad Mokaev leave the UFC?
On Saturday night, the mixed martial arts leader returned for its latest pay-per-view event, UFC 304. For the past week, the promotion has been back in the United Kingdom. Why, then, was I still stating up until 7 AM, UFC? Dana White? Anybody? Pre-warning, I planned to do my best not to selfishly write that […]
On Saturday night, the mixed martial arts leader returned for its latest pay-per-view event, UFC 304.
For the past week, the promotion has been back in the United Kingdom. Why, then, was I still stating up until 7 AM, UFC? Dana White? Anybody? Pre-warning, I planned to do my best not to selfishly write that as a negative for my fellow Brits and I. Was I successful? No comment.
Regardless of the disappointing timings, nothing was disappointing about the lineup the UFC brought with it across the pond, topped by title defenses for welterweight kingpin Leon Edwards and interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall.
Before Belal Muhammad and Curtis Blaydes looked to bring shouts of ‘and new’ to the Octagon, Paddy Pimblett had his first opportunity at cracking the lightweight rankings against King Green, Arnold Allen attempted to snap his losing skid at the expense of Giga Chikadze, and Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape vied for potential number one contender status at 125 pounds.
Elsewhere, notable British names like Christian Leroy Duncan, Molly McCann, Nathaniel Wood, and Mick Parkin all looked to leave Manchester’s Co-op Live arena with victories. But did they come together to form an entertaining night of fights?
Let’s find out with all the positives and negatives from UFC 304.
I can’t remember the last time a fight at a UFC PPV event pitted two opponents against one another who quite clearly aren’t up to the standard that should be required for someone to compete on the sport’s biggest stage.
Excuse me, I should have said “couldn’t remember,” past tense. I now can remember: Shauna Bannon vs Alice Ardelean.
The Irishwoman arrived in the UFC as a promising prospect last year off the back of a win under the Invicta FC banner. But she flopped on debut, struggling to land any meaningful offense in a decision defeat to Bruna Brasil. Saturday’s opening bout gave her the opportunity to erase the memory of that result with a strong sophomore performance. In that sense, she didn’t exactly succeed.
“Mama B” was tasked with facing a late-notice replacement opponent in Ardelean. The Romanian’s signing raised eyebrows, with most acknowledging her fairly underwhelming record and skillset while suggesting a social media following was the leading cause of her UFC arrival.
The fight was ultimately a close one with about as much quality as the kind of food the fans inside the Co-op Live would have picked up from Manchester kebab shops in the early hours.
Ardelean is certainly not at the level the UFC should require. And given her struggles en route to a lackluster decision win, it’s hard to say that Bannon is.
With an 11 PM start time, the last thing the UK fans needed was a dud to start.
When these two entered the cage, it was perhaps still too early for an in-cage alarm to be required. But Parkin, in particular, sent one ringing around Manchester with a thunderous…forearm?!
Regular readers will know my feeling on the heavyweight division (and the UFC’s habit of placing the likes of Shamil Gaziev in main event spots this year). With that, it’s always a relief to see them early on a card. The home favorite on Saturday night, however, brought feelings of relief for a different reason.
Rather than the feared three-round heavyweight slog, Parkin needed less than four minutes to dispatch ?ukasz Brzeski for UFC 304’s first finish. The damage was initially done by a clean overhand right that had “The Bull” on skates. While he survived the onslaught that followed for a time, his panicky evasive manoeuvers ultimately saw his head meet the forearm of Parkin, who had thrown a left hook.
Patterson subsequently gave us the triad of fight results, following Bannon’s decision and Parkin’s knockout with a submission victory over Kiefer Crosbie. Like his compatriot’s work beforehand, “The Future” needed just one round to have his hand raised, locking his Irish opponent in an arm-triangle choke for the quick tap.
The Englishman was highly touted prior to a disappointing debut in London last year. But having now won consecutive fights via first-round submissions, Patterson is well and truly back on the radar as one of the welterweight division’s most promising up-and-comers.
Negative – Wolf Tickets
To those who bought into Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape’s “bitter feud” and expected them to do away with their habit of putting on dull affairs at UFC 304, I’m afraid to say you were conned.
It took just a minute into the fight to see what was happening. After a hotel “brawl,” some “hold me back” energy at the ceremonial weigh-ins, and the apparent attempt to get at each other in the cage pre-fight, Mokaev and Kape stayed at range feinting.
The rest of the fight was predictable from there. And while some have turned their nose up at the scorecards, the rounds were so lackluster and absent of effective offense that I’m not sure there could be any logical fury over whatever the judges were to come out with.
But, we did have a real reason for fury in round two: Mike Beltran.
After getting Kape to the mat for the first time in round two, Mokaev displayed some of the most egregious cheating in recent memory by yanking “Starboy’s” shorts down and giving the cageside guests a view of his backside.
To not take a point is frankly diabolical. Congratulations, Mike, you can shout loud. Would you like a certificate? Why not do something actual consequential and take a point for such a blatant foul?
Not only was no point taken, Beltran wasn’t even going to pause the fight and take the position away from Mokaev until Kape practically spelled it out to him.
Whether it’s eye pokes, fence grabs, or de-clothing your foe, rules do not exist in mixed martial arts. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, why wouldn’t you cheat when such incompetence comes out of the third men inside the Octagon?
Positive – Bruna’s Brutal Body Blows
It was always going to take something special to write a Molly McCann loss in the positive section, but Bruna Brasil gave it to us on Saturday night. In fact, she gave it to us multiple times.
So, what was special, I hear you ask? Bruna’s body shots, that’s what.
The focus pre-fight was all on McCann and how she appeared to have reinvented herself as a strawweight when she submitted Diana Belbi?? in her divisional debut this past February. Because of that, an accomplished striker in Brasil was a ridiculously big underdog given the holes we’ve seen in “Meatball’s” game.
But the Brazilian made a mockery of the betting lines in a round one that verged on a 10-8. “The Special One” delivered a relentless attack to the home fighter’s body, drawing out major reactions with a few vicious knees and kicks to the midsection.
While she found less success in rounds two and three en route to a comfortable decision, Brasil’s violent assault of McCann’s body early was enough to leave a lasting impression. And with two wins on UK soil under the UFC banner, perhaps England is her good luck charm.
Just as the early hours began to take their toll and the crowd inside the Co-op Live faded, Paddy Pimblett arrived to wake them up.
It’s been a difficult period for “The Baddy,” who has had his momentum stalled by injuries and a controversial win over Jared Gordon back in late 2022. His subsequent performance against Tony Ferguson did little to stifle his detractors given “El Cucuy’s” age and losing skid.
With that, Pimblett vowed to get the fans back on his side by running through King (still feels odd to write) Green at UFC 304 — a claim not many took seriously. While a win was never going to be a massive shock, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone predicting one-way traffic and a quick finish.
But that is exactly what we got in Manchester, with a composed Pimblett picking Green apart on the feet in the opening exchanges before punishing the American’s bizarre decision to shoot for a takedown.
After Green slipped out of a guillotine, Pimblett locked in a tight triangle choke, adding in an armbar to the equation just as the ranked contender lost consciousness, sending the home fans into a frenzy.
If Pimblett’s three UFC fights in the UK have taught us anything, it’s that he can always be counted on to create an atmosphere. And his latest triumph has certainly taught his doubters that they were wrong to dismiss his chances of earning a number next to his name on MMA’s biggest stage.
If it wasn’t already clear after he starched Sergei Pavlovich in 69 seconds last November to win the “interim” gold, it sure is now after he stopped Curtis Blaydes in just 60. Aspinall’s first clean shot sat “Razor” down, and the American wasn’t unable to show enough defense on the floor to avoid Marc Goddard’s intervention.
With the win, Aspinall not only defended his title but also made the most of his chance to right the wrong from 2022 when a freak knee injury opposite Blaydes handed him his only Octagon setback to date.
So, what’s next for Aspinall? Well, if it’s not a unification fight with Jones, both the former two-time light heavyweight kingpin and the UFC should get significant backlash from the community.
And if Jones does indeed fight Stipe Miocic in a “legacy fight” that will do nothing for his legacy before retiring, his deliberate avoidance of Aspinall will mark a sizable stain on the back end of his career.
Fight the man, Jones.
Negative – Silly
I hate to conclude things with a complaint, but seriously, what was the UFC thinking?
At my desk, I was struggling to stay awake for a hefty chunk of the UFC 304 main card. I can’t even imagine feeling like that while in attendance at the Co-op Live, and it’s no wonder the atmosphere was absent for much of it.
Of course, Paddy Pimblett’s entrance and the memorable wins for him and Tom Aspinall brought out the kind of cheers and reaction expected of a UK crowd. But just before that, Christian Leroy Duncan and Gregory Rodrigues fought out an entertaining and bloody battle amid complete silence.
Post-event, Dana White had the nerve to criticize fighters for not being motivated by the $100,000 bonuses, stating he’ll never raise them under pressure at press conferences ever again. How about never making athletes compete at 3, 4, and 5 AM again? Maybe that had something to do with it?
The likes of Edwards had to compete in the early hours because the idea of American fans watching an event at 4 PM instead of 10 PM was apparently too crazy to entertain. Do better, UFC.
What this guy said
Whose dumb idea was it to have a UFC card at 4 AM in England? Why couldn't they have just pushed this main card up to 7 PM EST United States time? No wonder the crowd is exhausted #UFC304
Muhammad got right to work with what works best for him, scoring a pair of takedowns early. Edwards had good connections on the feet during the round, but Muhammad connected with a late uppercut that seemed to rock Edwards. Muhammad then completely had his way with the defending champion in the second round, landing a […]
Muhammad got right to work with what works best for him, scoring a pair of takedowns early. Edwards had good connections on the feet during the round, but Muhammad connected with a late uppercut that seemed to rock Edwards.
Muhammad then completely had his way with the defending champion in the second round, landing a couple of more takedowns and showing complete pressure and control. This included a takedown where Edwards was notably dumped on his head.
Edwards fought back against Muhammad’s pressure in the third round, taking control on the ground and getting to Muhammad’s back with a body triangle, threatening a choke. Edwards looked to land in the fourth and had solid connections. But Muhammad answered and went back to his wrestling pressure, scoring another takedown and having complete control of Edwards’s back this time around.
The two exchanged early in the fifth round, with Edwards fending off a takedown attempt. But Muhammad pressured him back to the fence and took a hold of him again. There, Muhammad got another body lock and another takedown, overwhelming Edwards with wrestling. Edwards busted Muhammad open with two elbows in the fight’s closing seconds, but it was too little, too late.
Muhammad won on all three scorecards, with two 48-47s and a 49-46.
Belal Muhammad Claims Welterweight Championship With Decision Win Over Leon Edwards At UFC 304
— Platinum Mike Perry (@PlatinumPerry) July 28, 2024
Interesting scorecards.
One judge had the first for Edwards another had the fifth for Edwards.
I think you can certainly make a case for the fifth with those big elbows at the end of a round that was mostly control. The first was somewhat close, but thought Belal had it. https://t.co/kTqhbOvXqq
Muhammad has won all but two fights in the UFC since 2017. This now marks six straight wins for Muhammad since a no-contest in his first fight with Edwards.
This marks Edwards’s first loss since dropping his initial battle with Kamaru Usman at the end of 2015. Edwards won the welterweight title at UFC 278 with a fifth-round knockout of Usman and retained in a trilogy fight with Usman, as well as Colby Covington.
14 months removed from his last appearance inside the Octagon, top-ranked contender Belal Muhammad stepped into the main event…
14 months removed from his last appearance inside the Octagon, top-ranked contender Belal Muhammad stepped into the main event spotlight at UFC 304 looking to land a massive upset over reigning welterweight world champion Leon Edwards.
Muhammad got his ground game going right out the gate, securing a solid takedown against the fence. Before long, Edwards was able to muscle his way back up and went to work on the feet, lighting up Muhammad with a series of solid strikes. With less than a minute to go in the first, Muhammad appeared to clip Edwards, forcing the champ back and allowing the challenger to secure another clean takedown to close the round.
Muhammad picked up right where he left off in the second, backing up Edwards with some strikes before shooting in and taking the champ’s back. Every time ‘Rocky’ would fight his way back up, Muhammad would ragdoll him back down to the canvas.
In a near-disastrous moment, ‘Remember The Name’ inadvertently spiked Edwards on the top of his head during a mat return, though the referee either didn’t notice or simply chose not to address it.
After giving up two rounds, Leon Edwards turned the tables in the third, revering a takedown from Muhammad and taking his opponent’s back. Rocky’ slapped on a body triangle and went fishing for a rear-naked choke, but ‘Bully B’ prevented Edwards from cinching anything in.
Round four saw Muhammad back in control, landing another early takedown and taking Edwards’ back. In the final 30 seconds, ‘Rocky’ reversed the position, but was unable to muster before the bell. It was more of the same in the fifth with ‘Remember The Name’ taking Edwards down and quickly controlling his back.
With time running out, Edwards reversed position and dropped some nasty elbows from the top position, busting open Muhammad and bloodying him. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to close the gap on the scorecards.
Official Result: Belal Muhammad def. Leon Edwards via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) to win the UFC welterweight world championship
Check Out Highlights From Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad at UFC 304:
Tom Aspinall successfully defended his UFC interim heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 304 by stopping Curtis Blaydes in the first round. As fans have come to expect from the Brit, he closed the show early on after dropping Blaydes and getting the TKO finish in the opening minute. The challenger was able […]
Tom Aspinall successfully defended his UFC interim heavyweight title in the co-main event of UFC 304 by stopping Curtis Blaydes in the first round.
As fans have come to expect from the Brit, he closed the show early on after dropping Blaydes and getting the TKO finish in the opening minute.
The challenger was able to have some success early on with his strikes but Aspinall only needed to pull off one well-timed entry to find the shot he was looking for.
Aspinall, and the UFC commentary team, called for the title unification fight with Jon Jones who is expected to return later this year against Stipe Miocic.
MMA World Reacts To Tom Aspinall’s Successful Homecoming In Manchester
MMA fighters and fans reacted on social media as Aspinall finished yet another opponent without needing to go to a second round.
Many, as expected, want to see him stand across the cage from “Bones” as was the case before this fight.
There's no reason why anyone should consider Jones the champ. One fight in the division, fighting an inactive contender, prepping for retirement. Aspinall is the UFC HW champion.
How can you argue Aspinal isn’t the best heavyweight walking the planet today. It’s not close. Jon Jones argument doesn’t work the sample size is one fight that was against a dude who can’t grapple. #ufc304
"Hello, Jon. I have nothing against you personally. I just think I'm better than you. I just know I can beat you in a fight, so I'm coming for you."#UFC304
via Lee Hammond’s IG page. #UFC304 pic.twitter.com/mne2O2wn4s
via Lee Hammond’s IG page. 
Despite his unanimous decision win over bitter-enemy, Manel Kape at UFC 304 overnight, unbeaten flyweight star, Muhammad Mokaev is…
the first ever champion ever. Long live palestine 
(@lthomasnews) 
14 months removed from his last appearance inside the Octagon, top-ranked contender Belal Muhammad stepped into the main event…
(@DovySimuMMA)