Fight week for the UFC 304 pay-per-view this Saturday night has kicked off with the release of the promotion's latest Countdown episode.
Under the spotlight in this edition is the headliner between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad and the co-main event between Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes.
Saturday's lineup is topped by a championship rematch, with welterweight kingpin Edwards (22-3, 1 NC) looking to add a third successful defense to his reign, which got underway with a victory over Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in August 2022. He's since retained possession of the belt by getting the better of Usman again and Colby Covington in 2023.
If "Rocky" is to continue his rule atop the 170-pound mountain, he must record a victory over Muhammad (23-3, 1 NC) at the second time of trying. The pair first collided in a UFC Fight Night main event back in 2021, which ended prematurely when accidental eye pokes left "Remember the Name" unable to continue. He's since won five straight over Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, and Gilbert Burns to finally earn his first shot at gold.
Before those two run it back in the main event at Manchester's Co-op Live arena, another home fighter will put his title on the line in a rematch.
Two years on from a devastating knee injury handing him his first UFC loss, interim heavyweight champion Aspinall (14-3) will look to right that wrong by leveling the score with Blaydes (18-4, 1 NC). In defense of the strap he captured with a thunderous knockout of Sergei Pavlovich last November, Aspinall is tasked with preventing "Razor" following his TKO of Jailton Almeida with first-time title glory on July 27.
Ahead of those two contests across the pond, fans can catch previews in the full episode of UFC 304 Countdown on the promotion's YouTube channel.