The UFC has officially announced its fifth trip to Manchester, England, and it’s taking place at the Co-op Live arena on July 27.
The promotion has yet to announce the main event for UFC 304 but interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall recently said he will be defending his belt on that pay-per-view show.
Birmingham-based Leon Edwards could also put his UFC welterweight title on the line on the card.
UFC 304 will be the first octagon visit to Manchester since Michael Bisping avenged a loss to Dan Henderson to defend his middleweight crown in the main event of UFC 204 in 2016 for a crowd of 16,000 fans.
The prelims will begin at 11 p.m. BST (6 p.m. ET in the U.S.), followed by the main card airing at 3 a.m. BST (10 p.m. ET in the U.S., the traditional start time for a UFC pay-per-view).
Three other UFC shows were held in Manchester previously, but only one aired on pay-per-view, with Gabriel Gonzaga scoring a huge upset versus Mirko Cro Cop in the main event of UFC 70. UFC 105, although a numbered card, aired on tape-delay on Spike in 2009, and Lyoto Machida stopped Mark Munoz on a Fight Night main event in 2013.
After weeks of speculation, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today announced the upcoming UFC 304 pay-per-view (PPV) event, scheduled for Sat., July 27, 2024 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. UFC 304 tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. BST on Friday, June 7, via Ticketmaster with special pre sales for UFC Fight Club members on Weds., June 5, at 9 a.m. BST and newsletter subscribers on Thurs., June 6, at 10 a.m. BST.
“I’m so excited to get back to Manchester and no better time than this summer,” said UFC President and CEO Dana White. “We have two champions from the UK and fans have been dying for a UFC PPV event. So here we come to the largest indoor arena in the UK. See you soon, England!”
Among those fighters expected to compete are UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards and UFC interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall, as well as local favorites Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann, Muhammad Mokaev, Michael Page, and Arnold Allen, among others. Expect official announcements on specific matchups in the coming weeks, if not days.
“With the north of England home to so many of the world’s leading fighters, we are primed and ready for UFC and its knowledgeable, passionate fanbase,” said Co-op Live Executive Director & General Manager, Gary Roden. “Offering a state-of-the-art platform for globally broadcast events, Co-op Live is extremely proud to welcome entertainment of this scale and caliber as the future home of combat sports in the UK.”
UFC has not staged an MMA card in Manchester since UFC 204 “Bisping vs. Henderson” back in late 2016.
That start time was pretty brutal at UFC 204 and did nothing to discourage the coke-heads to ease off which created a shitty atmosphere at times.
It’s either that or an Apex lineup though so i suppose its for the best.
Damn
Weird start time
The toilets were all smashed up and leaking piss everywhere. Everyone doing keys and smoking bangers.
Transport after was fucked and the Coop Live is in a shitter location.
Only gonna task it if JBJ is on the card, which I doubt
https://www.mmanews.com/news/tom-aspinall-reacts-start-time-ufc-304-manchester
Tom Aspinall Reacts To 3 AM Start Time For UFC 304 Main Card In Manchester: ‘It’s Just Not Fair On The Fans’
Aspinall has a bone to pick with the UFC.
The Area isn’t even finished yet and they keep having to cancel shows 30mins before. Be interesting to see if the card gets moved to a new location.
UFC 304 has added a featherweight contender clash – and a little home-country flavor.
At the July 27 pay-per-view event in Manchester, England’s Arnold Allen will battle Georgia’s Giga Chikadze in a three-round bout.
Two people with knowledge of the situation informed MMA Junkie of the booking Thursday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement. Super Lutas first listed the promotion was targeting the matchup for England.
Allen (19-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) aims to bounce back from a loss to Movsar Evloev at UFC 297 in January. The defeat was his second in as many fights, paired with an April 2023 defeat to Max Holloway. Both losses were unanimous decisions.
Chikadze (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) has only competed once since a January 2022 loss to Calvin Kattar. He defeated Alex Caceres 19 months later, in August 2023. Then scheduled to fight Josh Emmett at UFC 296 in December, Chikadze suffered a groin injury that caused him to withdraw from the fight.