UFC 304 is on Saturday at the Co-Op Arena in Manchester, England, and there are 14 fights on the card. As usual, not all fights are created equal. We know two titles are on the line, but which fights figure to deliver from an overall standpoint?
How do we judge a bout’s hype and pre-fight appeal on any MMA card?
It comes down to the 4-S formula: Stars, Stakes, Styles and Spite. Does this fight have star power from one or both sides? What’s at stake for the fighters?
Do their styles figure to deliver a fan-friendly fight? Lastly, is there any animosity or spite between the fighters? A little bad blood can make a fight more appealing for fans.
With those parameters in mind, here is every fight on the UFC 304 ranked from most appealing to least. Here’s a quick spoiler: The No. 1 fight on the card wasn’t even in the pay-per-view portion of the show as of Thursday afternoon.
UFC 304 – Muhammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape – 33.5 out of 40
Initially, Mokaev and Kape were set to fight on the main card. Mysteriously, however, the fight was demoted from the pay-per-view portion of the event to the early prelims.
When asked why the fight was dropped, Mokaev told reporters, “maybe my style is boring.” I’m not sure about that, but I believe the two men could create one heck of a flyweight scrap.
Perhaps the demotion is related to Kape’s repeated issues, making weight and missing fights overall. Since August 2021, Kape has missed weight twice, failed a drug test for performance-enhancing drugs, and withdrawn because of injury.
When he fights, he is one of the best flyweights in the world, and that’s part of the reason it is my top fight on the card.
Mokaev, 11-0, comes in as one of the fastest-rising young fighters in the promotion and someone seemingly ticketed for a world title shot down the road. A win over Kape could make that sooner rather than later.
The 23-year-old is ranked No. 6 in a division that just saw the champion defend his title against the No-10 ranked contender. If Mokaev can beat Kape, he has to be on a short list of title contenders.
If Kape wins, he could be one or two more victories from a rematch with Pantoja, whom he lost to in February 2021. If you’re worried about Kape making weight, he posted this on X on Thursday night.
Oh, and these two also got into an absolute brawl at the hotel during fight week, which added a strong bit of bad blood leading up to the event.
(c) Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad – UFC Welterweight Championship – 32 out of 40
Edwards is one of the best fighters in the world, regardless of weight class. Muhammad is tough, but he’s not the most exciting opponent.
That’s rumored to be why this fight didn’t land on UFC 300. Even still, legitimate UFC gold is on the line, and one of the best pound-for-pound gold is in action in his home country.
That counts for something, and lately, these two soft-spoken fighters have been doing some jawing to raise the appeal of their championship main event.
(c) Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes – UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship – 28.5 out of 40
Dana White raised the stakes on the co-main event by guaranteeing the winner would receive a shot at the winner of Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic.
Put that on top of the interim title being on the line, and this is a legit banger. The fight being a rematch helps the appeal–especially considering the abrupt ending to the first fight. However, these guys have so much respect for each other that there is not just a lack of bad blood; you almost wonder if we’re going to see a lack of aggression.
This is a heavyweight fight, so the end could be savage, which, mixed with the stakes, makes this a must-see on Saturday.
Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze – 27 out of 40
Allen was on the cusp of a title shot, but he has lost two in a row to Max Holloway and Movsar Evloev. While both of his past two opponents are elite, Allen doesn’t want a third loss in a row and he definitely doesn’t want to taste defeat in his home country.
Chikadze is one of the best pure strikers at featherweight, so this one could be exciting. Allen is usually entertaining and he should be fired up to perform in front of his countrymen.
King Green vs. Paddy Pimblett – 26.5 out of 40
Few fighters with Pimblett’s resume have his popularity.
In any case, Pimblett is a legit star fighting on the final fight of his UFC contract. Green is an entertaining and excellent stand-up fighter capable of scoring a KO or picking his opponents apart on the feet. With Pimblett’s preference for ground fighting, we’re likely to witness a clash of styles.
Both fighters are eager to put on a show. Pimblett usually brings the energy and may be fighting for another deal. Green specifically asked White to raise the bonuses for the event to $100K, and the CEO obliged.
Despite the lack of bad blood, we have the formula for something substantial here.
Here are the rest of the rankings and the scores I gave them based on the 4-S formula.
- Nathaniel Wood vs. Daniel Pineda – 25
- Christopher Leroy Duncan vs. Gregory Rodrigues – 24
- Modestas Bukauskas vs. Marcin Prachnio – 23
- Molly McCann vs. Bruna Brasil – 22.5
- Shauna Bannon vs. Alice Ardelean – 22
- Jake Hadley vs. Caolan Loughran – 21.5
- Sam Patterson vs. Kiefer Crosbie – 21
- Oban Elliott vs. Preston Parsons – 19.5
- Mick Parkin vs. Lukasz Brzeski – 17.5
In case you missed it, UFC 304 begins at 6pm ET and can be seen on ESPN+ and ESPN PPV.
