UFC 304: Tom Aspinall lauds ‘high level’ Leon Edwards ahead title showdown - ‘One of the highest fight IQs’

Previewing the UFC 304 main event between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall heaped praise on his fellow Brit. Edwards will put his welterweight belt on the line against Muhammad in Manchester this weekend as the UFC hosts its first pay-per-view event in the UK. Catch all the action from UFC 304 live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

Tom Aspinall described Leon Edwards as one of the smartest fighters in the world ahead of the welterweight champion’s title fight against Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester this weekend.

Edwards’ place at the top of the division was hard-earned and he comes into his third title defence on the back of two victories over Kamaru Usman and a dominant unanimous-decision triumph over Colby Covington last December.

Now he faces a familiar foe in Muhammad, who is undefeated since January 2019 and boasts wins over Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson and, most recently, Gilbert Burns.

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The pair squared off in March 2021, but referee Herb Dean was forced to call it off early in the second round when Muhammad suffered a brutal eye poke, the bout ruled a no contest.

But that was after Edwards came close to landing a knockout head kick in the first round, the same shot he dethroned Usman with in 2022.

Previewing the fight in the lastest episode of 'Tom Aspinall's Fight Lab', interim heavyweight champion Aspinall, who takes on Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event in Manchester, analysed the sequence and tactics that enabled Edwards to find a home for his trademark kick.

“If you look even in the slo-mo here with Belal, look where his defence is,” Aspinall began. “He [Edwards] has thrown a couple of body kicks early on and he is looking… his eyes are down here [on Muhammad’s chest] somewhere.

“So Belal is tucking the elbow in because he thinks he’s going to go to the body, but the head kick comes up top.

“It’s really high level, subtle stuff from Leon Edwards. [He’s got] one of the highest fight IQs in the game in my opinion.”

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Video credit: TNT Sports

‘All about the Dagestani airlines’

Fighting on the prelims, undefeated British prospect Muhammad Mokaev takes on eighth-ranked Manel Kape in a flyweight bout.

Mokaev, ranked sixth in the 125lb division, is 12-0 in his career and has been tipped as a future UFC title challenger.

Despite fighting in vastly different weight classes, Aspinall knows Mokaev’s strengths and weaknesses well having met him before he became a professional fighter.

In his six UFC fights, Mokaev has four submission victories, with Aspinall explaining why he loves watching his fellow Brit so much.

“I know what Muhammad Mokaev is like, I’ve known Muhammad since he was about 12 years old,” Aspinall said. “He loves a scrap and I love to see it so let’s have a look at his style.

“The thing with Muhammad is he loves to pick people up in the air and drop them on their neck, that’s his thing.

“In his words, the Dagestani airlines is what he refers to it as. So what you’ll see from him a lot of the time is he likes to throw a double, switch it to this way [around the back] and then he likes to get his feet and his hips under his opponent so he can start to lift and throw back.

“Even from a double against the fence, he’ll get his feet and hips and under and then he’ll start to lift because Muhammad is all about the Dagestani airlines.

“He loves it and we love to see it.”

UFC 304: What TV channel is the main card on?

Live coverage from the Co-op Live arena in Manchester begins at 03:00 UK time on Sunday, July 28 on TNT Sports 1 and discovery+.

What time does UFC 304 start in the UK?

The prelims start at 01:00 on Sunday, July 28, with the main card following at 03:00. The early prelims, which can be watched on UFC Fight Pass, start at 23:15 UK time on Saturday night.