Leon Edwards is favored against Belal Muhammad at UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 on Saturday, July 27 in Manchester, England. This event is one of five fights on the main pay-per-view card. Edwards is 22-3 in his career, including 14-2 in the UFC, while Muhammad is 23-3 in his career, including 14-3 in the UFC. There are a total of 14 fights, with five on Pay-Per-View, four on ESPN2/ESPN+, and five on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass at UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2. Let’s look at the bout between Edwards and Muhammad and UFC predictions.
UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 takes place at Co-op Live in Manchester, England on Saturday, July 27 with 14 fights, with five on Pay-Per-View, four on ESPN2/ESPN+, and five on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.
UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad II Betting
Leon Edwards (22-3, 14-2 UFC)
Edwards came into the UFC with a record of 8-1 and he has 14 wins and two losses in the UFC. In his last six fights, he has six wins and no losses. He defeated Gunnar Nelson by split decision, Rafael dos Anjos by unanimous decision, Nate Diaz by unanimous decision, Kamaru Usman by KO, Kamaru Usman by majority decision, and Colby Covington by unanimous decision. Edwards’ last loss in his career was against Kamaru Usman by unanimous decision in December of 2015. Edwards has been a pro since 2011 and he has seven wins by TKO/KO and three by submission. He has four first round finishes.
Edwards said this to mmajunkie.usatoday.com about his upcoming fight against Muhammad, “Deluded, he’s talking a lot, so make sure you can back it up. Like I said, he’s been off over a year. The way he talks is like he was winning the first fight, so a bit deluded. But like I said, he best be ready. It’s going to be a long, hard, tough fight for him in Manchester.”
Belal Muhammad (23-3, 14-3 UFC)
Muhammad came into the UFC with a record of 9-0 and he has 14 wins and three losses in the UFC. In his last six fights, he has six wins and no losses. He defeated Dhiego Lima by unanimous decision, Demian Maia by unanimous decision, Stephen Thompson by unanimous decision, Vicente Luque by unanimous decision, Sean Brady by TKO, and Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision. Muhammad’s last loss was against Geoff Neal by unanimous decision in January of 2019. Muhammad has been a pro since 2012 and he has five wins by TKO/KO and one by submission. He has one first round finish.
Muhammad said this to mmajunkie.usatoday.com about his upcoming fight against Edwards, Honestly, I think I go in there and knock him out. When I look at my last stylistic matchups, I fought the best striker in the UFC in (Stephen) ‘Wonderboy’ (Thompson). I fought the best grappler in the UFC in Demian Maia. I fought great finishers in Vicente Luque. I fought Gilbert Burns on three weeks’ notice. I think all those fights added up to this one fight – like I said, God’s plan. … All those things, they just leveled me up. I think right now, I’m the best version of myself and I think that Leon’s going to get in there, him and his team there in Manchester; they’re going to be surprised. They’re going to be in for a rude awakening. People will say whatever they want to say, but my last full camp I knocked out Sean Brady. Gilbert Burns fight was a three weeks’ notice fight. So if we’re going off my last full camp, it was a knockout. This fight, I’m going to knock out Leon Edwards. We’ve been training for this guy for two years.”
Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Edwards 2.75 / Muhammad 4.55
Striking Accuracy: Edwards 53% / Muhammad 43%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Edwards 2.34 / Muhammad 3.64
Defense: Edwards 54% / Muhammad 57%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Edwards 1.25/ Muhammad 1.98
Takedown Accuracy: Edwards 34% / Muhammad 35%
Takedowns defended: Edwards 70% / Muhammad 93%
Submission average: Edwards 0.4/ Muhammad 0.2
UFC Picks
Edwards is listed as more than a 2-1 favorite in UFC odds to win this fight. Should he really be that big a favorite? The two fighters have nearly identical records and I just don’t see that much of a difference between the two fighters. Is the layoff that big of a concern for Muhammad? I am not so sure. I think the price makes Muhammad worth considering. Also, the rounds are listed at 4.5 and although both fighters are talking tough, neither is a great finisher. I’ll also play the rounds to go over the total.
| DATE | FIGHTERS | MONEY LINE |
| 07/27 | Belal Muhammad | +197 |
| Leon Edwards | -255 |
| 07/27 | Curtis Blaydes | +270 |
| Tom Aspinall | -365 |
| 07/27 | Paddy Pimblett | -103 |
| Bobby Green | -127 |
| 07/27 | Manel Kape | +120 |
| Muhammad Mokaev | -150 |
| 07/27 | Giga Chikadze | +204 |
| Arnold Allen | -265 |
| 07/27 | Daniel Pineda | +313 |
| Nathaniel Wood | -435 |
| 07/27 | Bruna Brasil | +244 |
| Molly McCann | -325 |
| 07/27 | Lukasz Brzeski | +215 |
| Mick Parkin | -281 |
| 07/27 | Preston Parsons | -140 |
| Oban Elliott | +110 |
| 07/27 | Christian Leroy Duncan | -145 |
| Gregory Rodrigues | +114 |
| 07/27 | Kiefer Crosbie | +273 |
| Sam Patterson | -370 |
| 07/27 | Marcin Prachnio | +123 |
| Modestas Bukauskas | -154 |
| 07/27 | Caolan Loughran | -217 |
| Jake Hadley | +170 |
| 07/27 | Alice Ardelean | +143 |
| Shauna Bannon | -180 |
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