UFC 304 marks the promotion’s return to Manchester in nearly eight years, and U.K. fans are fired up.
The one-two punch of fights atop the card feature the two Englishmen who currently own UFC titles, as welterweight champion Leon Edwards faces Belal Muhammad, and interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall fights Curtis Blaydes. Both fights are rematches of non-title matchups from years’ past.
With the title fights set, the promotion continues to fill out the rest of the lineup for its July 27 pay-per-view at Co-op Live. A quartet of undercard bouts were recently made official by the promotion. Scroll below to see who was added, as well as a full up-to-date fight card.
Bruna Brasil vs. Molly McCann
Jul 23, 2022; London, United Kingdom; Molly McCann (red gloves) before her fight against Hannah Goldy (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports
“Meatball” Molly McCann is back and will try to continue her momentum at strawweight after a successful debut in February when she made opponent Diana Belbita scream. That victory snapped a two-fight skid for McCann (14-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC).
Bruna Brasil hopes to spoil the home country appearance for McCann and get back in the win column. Brasil (9-4-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) most recently competed in February when she lost a unanimous decision to Loma Lookboonmee.
This fight was first reported by Ag.Fight.
Caolan Loughran vs. Ramon Taveras
Mar 30, 2024; Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA; Caolan Loughran (blue gloves) celebrates after defeating Angel Pacheco (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at Boardwalk Hall. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Brash Irishman Coalon Loughran picked up his first UFC victory in March when he defeated Angel Pacheco. The victory bounced him back from a promotional debut loss to Taylor Lapilus. Although Loughran (9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) called for Raul Rosas Jr. after his recent win, he’ll have to settle for a different American.
Dana White’s Contender Series alumnus Ramon Taveras missed weight ahead of his UFC 297 debut but got one back on Serhiy Sidey by unanimous decision. The decision was debated by viewers but not as much so as the first fight Taveras (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) had with Sidey on DWCS, which he won in 29 seconds by what many called a premature stoppage.
This fight was first reported by Severe MMA.
Shauna Bannon vs. Ravena Oliveira
Jul 22, 2023; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Shauna Bannon (red gloves) fights Bruna Brasil (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at O2 Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports
The second Irish female fighter in UFC history, Shauna Bannon returns for her sophomore promotional appearance after a unanimous decision loss to Bruna Brasil in July. Bannon (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is a two-time Invicta FC alum and a protege of former UFC fighter Paddy Holohan.
Brazil’s Ravena Oliveira is also hungry for her first UFC win. Oliveira (7-2-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) debuted in October when she lost a unanimous decision to Tainara Lisboa. The defeat snapped a seven-fight winning streak.
This fight was first reported by Eurosport NL.
Lukasz Brzeski vs. Mick Parkin
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – AUGUST 23: Mick Parkin of England prepares to fight Eduardo Neves of Brazil in a heavyweight fight during Dana White’s Contender Series season six, week five at UFC APEX on August 23, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
No stranger to competing in England, Mick Parkin gets another crack to fight in his home country. Parkin (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is unbeaten thus far in the UFC with three unanimous decisions over Jamal Pogues, Caio Machado, and Mohammed Usman.
The fourth time was the charm for Lukasz Brzeski who snapped a three-fight skid and picked up his first UFC victory with a unanimous decision win over Valter Walker in April. Brzeski (9-4-1 MMA, 1-3 UFC) is a Dana White’s Contender Series alum with five knockouts and two submissions under his belt.
Current UFC 304 fight card
Dec 16, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Leon Edwards (red gloves) fights Colby Covington (blue gloves) during UFC 296 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
- Champ Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad – for welterweight title
- Interim champ Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes – for interim heavyweight title
- Bobby Green vs. Paddy Pimblett
- Manel Kape vs. Muhammad Mokaev
- Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze
- Daniel Pineda vs. Nathaniel Wood
- Shauna Bannon vs. Ravena Oliveira
- Bruna Brasil vs. Molly McCann
- Caolan Loughran vs. Ramon Taveras
- Oban Elliott vs. Preston Parsons
- Lukasz Brzeski vs. Mick Parkin
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.