Former champion Robert 'The Reaper' Whittaker makes his official picks for UFC 304 title fights
07/24/2024 01:56 PM
UFC 304 goes down this weekend with Aspinall vs Blaydes setting the stage for Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad in the main event.
Two world title fight rematches top the bill as the UFC finally touches back down in Manchester, England this weekend for UFC 304, a fantastic fight card packed with British and Irish MMA talent.
Yet as the global UFC community begins to share their predictions for who they think will emerge victorious from the Co-op Arena, one of the best minds in the game has broken down who he believes will get their hands raised this Saturday night.
'The Reaper' expects Leon Edwards to defend his welterweight title
Breaking down the UFC 304 main card via the superb MMArcade Podcast, former champion Robert Whittaker believes that the resume that Leon Edwards has put together since their first bout, coupled with the experience of three world title fights since sees 'Rocky' firmly in the driving seat.
"I think the caliber of fights that Leon has had are different to Belal Muhammad’s and I think fighting Usman twice is huge – especially the first one was the 'good' Usman.
"Colby is a nightmare for everyone, and he was just about to shut him down so well with spectacular spacing and traditional, classy, striking."
'The Reaper' acknowledged that the British superstar has elevated his skillset to world championship levels since that controversial clash with Muhammad back in 2021, and that the holes in his game are getting smaller with each passing fight.
"It's very hard to find a hole [in Edwards' game] especially if we compare it to when he fought Nate Diaz and we saw that hole getting exposed in the later rounds, I feel like he's tightened up to a whole new degree.
"In that last fight [vs Covington], I was super impressed just how clean he was, there wasn't anything to pick apart, any glaring weaknesses or points to exploit and I find that type of fight as being hard for Belal Muhammad who, whilst he's not specular in any one field, he's well-rounded."
Edwards is currently riding a 12-fight winning streak which includes victories over Kamaru Usman (twice), Colby Covington, Nate Diaz, Rafael Dos Anjos, and Donald Cerrone.
Meanwhile, Muhammad is on a nine-fight winning streak, having beaten the likes of Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady, Vicente Luque, and Stephen Thompson.
Ultimately, the former UFC middleweight king predicted that Muhammad won't be able to implement his gameplan on July 27, and he expects the current welterweight champion to retain his title come Sunday morning.
"I think he's [Muhammad] going to have trouble trying to push that gameplan on Leon Edwards… I don't think Muhammad has that game that can absorb [big] shots and just push through enough – Edwards snipes too well, his spacing is too good, he mixes his hands and feet up really well."
Whittaker warns of a dangerous Curtis Blaydes, but still sides with Aspinall
The co-main event of UFC 304 might not be the undisputed heavyweight title fight that fans have been craving, but Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes represent the two best fighters in the division for many within the community – including 'The Reaper'.
"Mate, I'm a big fan of Curtis Blaydes and I'm a big fan of his fight style – he's the type of fighter where when I pair him against other heavyweights, I don't know how he loses; I don't know how he's ever the underdog.
"To be such a big strong guy, and to have that level of wrestling and cardio and output, but like he gets caught – that's the only way he loses, he gets caught by these big dudes and more often than not."
That being said, Whittaker still thinks that Blaydes will have some massive issues to contend with when he steps into the octagon to face the surging British juggernaut for a second time.
"I'm a big fan of how Tom Aspinall moves, the fact he's so light but can hit so hard in such a generally slow division is going to give Curtis Blaydes a lot of trouble.
"It is so hard to take someone down when they're light on their feet, when they move away quick, when they're peppering you, it's going to be a nightmare of a fight for Blaydes trying to close that gap and I don't see Curtis beating Tom in a stand-up fight… I'm going to have to back Tom here."
UFC 304 main card fight reportedly drops down to the early prelims
Looking further down the card, Robert Whittaker revealed that he's picking both Paddy Pimblett and Giga Chikadze to win this weekend, but also that he's leaning towards Manel Kape to get the underdog win against undefeated prospect Muhammad Mokaev.
However, whilst that flyweight fight was originally placed as the fourth fight on the main card (after Allen vs Chikadze, and before Pimblett vs Green), it appears that the UFC might have shuffled the deck.
According to both the official UFC and ESPN websites, that fight has now been moved down all the way to the early prelims – with the middleweight bout Christian Leroy Duncan vs Gregory Rodrigues now being listed in its original main card spot.
At the time of writing on July 24, the UFC 304 fight order is as follows; starting with the early prelims and ending with the main event.
- Shauna Bannon vs Alice Ardelean
- Mick Parkin vs Lukasz Brzeski
- Sam Patterson vs Kiefer Crosbie
- Manel Kape vs Muhammad Mokaev
- Oban Elliot vs Preston Parsons
- Modestas Bukauskas vs Marcin Prachnio
- Jake Hadley vs Caolan Loughran
- Molly McCann vs Bruna Brasil
- Nathaniel Wood vs Daniel Pineda
- Arnold Allen vs Giga Chikadze
- Christian Leroy Duncan vs Gregory Rodrigues
- King Green vs Paddy Pimblett
- Tom Aspinall vs Curtis Blaydes
- Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad
UFC 304 goes down live this weekend from the Co-op Arena in Manchester, England.
