THE Octagon returns to Manchester for the first time in 100 numbered events with UFC 304, which runs throughout the night from 11pm Saturday through to 6am Sunday at the new Co-op Live arena.

Michael Bisping last headlined in the city at UFC 204 in October 2016, the last time an Octagon card ran through the night in the UK to cater for the more lucrative US pay-per-view audience.

This time sleepless fight fans are rewarded with two title fights as welterweight king Leon Edwards and interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall plan successful title defences.

Both British champions face rematches, with Edwards taking on #1 contender Belal Muhammed in the main event three years after their encounter behind closed doors mid-pandemic ended in a No-Contest.

Aspinall, meanwhile, stands back across the Octagon from #4 ranked Curtis Blaydes, who was on the receiving end of the July 2022 leg kick that blew Tom’s knee out and cost him 12 months of competition.

WELTERWEIGHT

An accidental eye poke prematurely ended Leon’s first fight with Belal just seconds into the second round, resulting in the No-Contest.

Since then, Edwards, 32, has gone on to capture 170lb gold and make two successful championship defences, racking up a 13-fight unbeaten run along the way.

Similarly, Belal has also stayed in the win column, notching five more wins to solidify his position as the leading contender and extend his run to 10 unbeaten.

The 36-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, has a wrestling base and is renowned for toughing his way through fights. After teaming up with Team Khabib, he started picking off top contenders.

Birmingham’s Edwards has been operating at a higher level, of course. Winning and retaining the welterweight crown from Kamaru Usman and, more recently, Colby Covington. Two fellow Americans with similar skillsets to Muhammed.

Barring a huge upset, Edwards should be far too technical on the feet and astute on the ground to see his championship legacy end any time soon.

 

HEAVYWEIGHT

Following his year on the sidelines, Aspinall – who’s only been out of the first round once in eight UFC fights – returned with fresh impetus to deliver on his talent.

He made light work of Marcin Tybura last summer before knocking out KO King Sergei Pavlovich in New York in November to claim the interim title.

With Heavyweight champion Jon Jones nursing injuries, Aspinall breaks new ground for the UFC in defending the secondary title. And Blaydes gets the first shot.

After looking embarrassed when his arm was raised with Aspinall still writhing in pain, clutching his knee, Blaydes suffered a TKO defeat to Pavlovich last April.

But he bounced back in the win column with an impressive second-round KO of tricky Brazilian Jailton Almeida in March.

Another American with a wrestling background, Blaydes, 33, is actually most effective on the feet, with 13 knockouts in 18 wins. However, all four of his losses have also been knockouts.

Aspinall’s 14-3 career features a 100% finish rate, with 11 knockouts and three submission victories. Of the 31-year-old’s three defeats, only one is legitimate, a submission loss in 2015.

The other two are a DQ for an illegal elbow drop in 2016 and last year’s self-inflicted knee injury.

Big, fast, and destructive, Aspinall has been nothing short of incredible in his short yet storied UFC run so far. With his sights on a ‘Bones’ Jones unification next, revenge over Blaydes feels almost like a formality.

 

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NICK’S PICK

A truly spectacular card awaits as the UFC returns to Manchester. British champions Edwards and Aspinall will look to retain their titles on home soil. An explosive night in the north west?

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