UFC 304: 5 Preliminary Fights to Watch

UFC 304 will feature two title fights at the Co-op Live in Manchester England this Saturday. Welterweight king Leon Edwards will look to defend his title against Belal Muhammad after their first fight, not for a title, ended in a no contest due to Edwards poking Muhammad in the eye.

Tom Aspinall will look to defend his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes in the co-main event.

Rounding out the main card is Paddy Pimblett vs. King Green at lightweight; Christian Leeroy Duncan vs. Gregory Rodrigues at middleweight, and Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze at featherweight.

Check out the strong fights on the undercard as well, featuring undefeated prospects, savvy veterans and hometown favorites.

Nathaniel Wood vs. Daniel Pineda

Veterans Wood and Pineda are set to throw down in the featured prelim of UFC 304. England’s Wood is looking to get back in the win column after his three-fight winning streak was snapped by Muhammad Naimov. “The Prospect,” now 30, has put a solid UFC resume together, going 7-3, though he’s looking for the big win that will catapult him into top-15 contention. He needs to get by Pineda to do it.

Pineda has 43 professional fights in a career that began in 2007. The 38-year-old has wins over Tucker Lutz, Herbert Burns and Pat Schilling.

Wood’s resume includes wins over Andre Fili, Charles Jourdain, John Castaneda, Charles Rosa and Andre Ewell. An impressive win in front of his home crowd over Pineda could get him the pop he needs for a big call out in a crowded featherweight division.

Molly McCann vs. Bruna Brasil

McCann has become a fan favorite in England. The sparkplug made good on her strawweight debut by submitting Diana Belbita with an armbar with one second left in the first round of their fight. While McCann found success at flyweight (wins over Belbita, Ariane Lipski, Priscila Cachoeira, Luana Carolina, Hannah Goldy and Ji Yeon Kim), grapplers larger than her gave her trouble. Dropping down to strawweight could mitigate some of those concerns.

Brasil is 1-2 in the UFC after a head-kick knockout of Marnic Mann on the Contender Series. Her win was a decision over Shauna Bannon.

“Meatball” will have the crowd on her side against the Brazilian as she looks for another finish.

Modestas Bukauskas vs. Marcin Prachino

Bukauskas had his four-fight winning streak snapped in his last bout against Vitor Petrino. He will look to get back into the win column over Prachino.

Bukauskas was 2-0 in his second UFC stint before the Prachino loss, having beaten Tyson Pedro and Zac Pauga. Prachino is 2-2 in his last four with wins over Devin Clark and William Knight in that span. His UFC resume also includes a win over the surging Khalil Rountree Jr.

Bukauskas and Prachino have a combined 16 Octagon appearances between them, so fans are getting a high-level light heavyweight contest. The winner could find himself one or two more wins away from a top-15 opponent.

Muhammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape

Buried on the UFC 304 prelims is a possible flyweight title eliminator – perhaps unjustly so. Mokaev, ranked No. 6, and Kape, ranked No. 8, are vying for a possible crack at Alexandre Pantoja‘s 125-pound title. Pantoja has championship wins over the top two contenders, as well as No. 9. He has a win over Alex Perez, ranked No. 7.

While Pantoja has beaten Kape, Kape has four wins in a row. Mokaev is 11-0 as a professional and 6-0 in the UFC with wins over Perez and Tim Elliott. Kape would be another big name to add to his list.

It’s not guaranteed that the bout is a title eliminator, as Amir Albazi is 5-0 in the UFC but hasn’t fought since he beat Kai Kara-France in June 2023, while Kara-France is set to fight for the first time since then with a bout upcoming against Steve Erceg. And Brandon Royval is still in need of an opponent after his split decision win over former champion Brandon Moreno. Royval had lost to Pantoja just before that, however.

Mokaev vs. Kape’s title aspirations could hinge on how soon Pantoja wants to return to the Octagon after his grueling May win over Erceg.

Stylistically, Mokaev vs. Kape is grappler vs. striker, which is always interesting. Mokaev will need to impose his will on Kape to win, while Kape likely needs to keep it standing and use his power to become the first man to beat Mokaev. It’s a crucial bout for both men.

Mick Parkin vs. Lukasz Brzeski

Parkin enters the fight a perfect 9-0 as a professional and 3-0 in the UFC. Brzeski will look to halt the heavyweight prospect’s momentum and hand him his first loss.

Parkin earned unanimous decisions over Mohammed Usman, Caio Machado and Jamal Pogues in his UFC career. Brzeski snapped an 0-3 stretch with a unanimous decision win over Valter Walker in his last outing. Walker entered undefeated at 11-0, and Brzeski will look to claim a second man’s ‘0’ in as many fights.

A win over Brzeski would be a big statement for Parkin, especially given Brzeski’s win over Walker. Especially in a division needing new prospects.

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