What mattered most in UFC 304 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England? Here are some post-fight reflections…
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5. Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape fail to live up to the hype
It’s hard to remember a fight in recent UFC history that had so much fighting in the beginning, but ended up falling apart after we witnessed the saga between [autotag]Muhammad Mokayev[/autotag] It is [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag].
Listen, I understand. These are flyweights. They are inherently not a high knockout division and are prone to longer, heavier grappling fights. Either way, these two in particular are not finishing experts in their own right. But given what we saw in the months and weeks leading up to this, and the moments beforehand in the Octagon where dozens of security guards had to fend them off before Bruce Buffer’s announcement – I mean, come on.
Leaving aside the initial upsets, I can also understand the circumstances that led to this fight not living up to expectations. Kape (19-7 MMA, 4-3 UFC) fought most of the fight with a mangled toe and was lucky not to lose by TKO when the dislocation first happened. And for Mokaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), he has a much longer career ahead of him where he can bounce back and was in the last fight of his contract. He is also trying to maintain his undefeated record, and did so via unanimous decision.
The most interesting question to come out of this was whether Mokaev would re-sign with the UFC and, well…
4. Dana White says goodbye to Mokaev
UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] didn’t keep us in suspense for long about Mokaev’s future. He wished the 23-year-old “good luck” and dropped him from the promotion, saying matchmakers didn’t want to sign him to a new contract and that the PFL would get “a great undefeated guy”.
It was harsh, but not shocking. Mokaev has been a thorn in the UFC’s side all week with his antics, and his post-fight claims that he was told by UFC brass not to use takedowns in his fights are not going to endear him to the company – true or not. .
Could Mokaev and his talented manager, Tim Simpson, find a way to mend fences? Perhaps. We’ve seen fighters come back from worse situations and work things out.
Mokaev better hope that’s the case, honestly, because there aren’t any good flyweight options for him outside of the UFC right now. And even looking at the possibilities outside of the UFC at bantamweight, there aren’t exactly a plethora of opportunities.
3. Paddy Pimblett makes his statement
For all doubts around [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] going into his fight against King Green, which on paper was his toughest to date – the polarizing Scouser made it all look easy.
A critic could argue that Green set himself up for his first submission loss since January 2009 by attempting a poorly timed takedown. Clear. But Pimblett took the torch from there and finished the job in the most brutal way possible, then shoved the torch down everyone’s throats.
Now it’s time for everything to become real. Pimblett signed a new contract with the UFC days before the fight and will likely be classified next week. He called Renato Moicano, which seems appropriate whether he wins or loses against Benoit Saint Denis in Paris on September 28th.
If this was Pimblett fighting up to the level of his perceived competition, then his career is in for some real fun.
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Paddy Pimblett defeated. King Green at UFC 304: Best photos
2. Tom Aspinall x Jon Jones needs to happen
I don’t know what else needs to be said outside of the title here, because [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] He did everything he could at this point.
I’ve been against the Jones vs Stipe Miocic yellow card since day one, and I’m only proving myself right as time goes on. It’s a beautiful fight in a vacuum, but an utterly ridiculous matchup as an undisputed heavyweight title fight after Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) crushed Curtis Blaydes to defend the interim belt in just 60 seconds.
There were years and years when questions about the need for Jones to further establish his legacy were met with mockery and disdain. I was part of that camp. But if he beats Miocic in November and retires from the sport without a unification fight against Aspinall, it will be a stain on his resume. Now I fully believe that.
There is nothing more to add.
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Tom Aspinall will only fight the winner of Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic after UFC 304 – unless they retire
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Tom Aspinall defeated. Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304: Best photos
1. Belal Muhammad’s title coronation draws ire
I wasn’t bold enough to make my official prediction from the MMA Junkie team in favor of [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag]but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a hunch he would dethrone Leon Edwards and win the welterweight title.
Sometimes it’s hard to see the line between confidence and false confidence. Muhammad’s (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) ridiculous talk since his no contest with Edwards in March 2021 and especially fight week has made me question this more than ever. But then he went out and did the work.
Was it the “torture” he said he would do on media day? No. Obviously not. Maybe just for some of those watching. But compared to expectations, this wasn’t such a bad fight. Muhammad did what everyone expected him to do if he wanted to win and he did it almost perfectly, and now the belt is in his possession.
We now live in a world where Muhammad owns gold, and there seem to be a lot of people out there who are not very happy about that – including UFC CEO White. However, Muhammad’s story shows that meritocracy in this sport still exists to some extent. Overall, it’s very out of whack, but Muhammad kept winning until he couldn’t be denied, and then he passed. No matter how you feel about him, if you appreciate that this is a real sport in any way, you have to respect him.
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Belal Muhammad defeated. Leon Edwards at UFC 304: Best photos
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC 304.
This article was originally published on MMA Junkie: The 5 biggest takeaways from UFC 304: Jon Jones’ legacy loses credibility without Tom Aspinall’s title unification fight
