The UFC heads back to Manchester, England for the first time since 2016 for their first live event at the new Co-op Live arena this Saturday, July 27th.

In the main event, we have a fight between two of the best welterweight fighters in the UFC as the champion Leon Edwards looks to defend his title a third time against surging contender "Remember The Name" Belal Muhammad.

• Leon Edwards comes into this fight after defending his welterweight championship for a second time after defeating Colby Covington via a unanimous decision.
• Muhammad's title shot has been a long time coming as he's riding a 9-fight winning streak with wins over top-ranked opposition like Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady, Vicente Luque, and Stephen Thompson in his last four victories.

With that said, we take a look at this main event fight and give out our prediction and pick for this Edwards-Muhammad matchup.

(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

UFC 304: Leon Edwards Predictions July 27th

Leon Edwards (22-3)?finally got his crack at Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title after a long winning streak back at UFC 278 and made the most of his opportunity with a 2022 knockout of the year candidate with his head kick knockout that was heard around the world to become the next undisputed welterweight champion.

Since becoming the welterweight champion, Edwards hasn't looked back as he defended his title not once but twice when he defeated Kamaru Usman a second time in the rematch and then defeated longtime title challenger Colby Covington in dominating fashion. Now he gets to put his title on the line for a third time and the second time in front of his home crowd.

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Leon Edwards has some unfinished business with Belal Muhammad and they look to settle their beef this weekend at UFC 304.

• The first encounter between these two welterweights back in 2021 ended in a No Contest after Edwards brutally eye-poked Muhammad to where he couldn't continue the fight.

Since that fight neither one of these two has lost a fight and Edwards has become the undisputed champion making this fight the best possible matchup that could be put together for the welterweight championship.

• During his time in the UFC, Edwards has certainly grown as a fighter as it was evident in his fights with the Usman and Covington.
• The fighter who's had trouble with dominant wrestling in the past has made the proper adjustments and has now done a great job at defending the takedowns to keep the fight on his feet where he has utmost advantage in the vast majority of his fights.

This matchup will be no different as Muhammad while is a great striker in his own right will want to mix in the takedowns to make Edwards work and wear him out throughout this five-round fight. However, Edwards will be the sharper striker and will be the one to win minutes if the fight were to remain on the feet.

It will be up to Edwards to do what he does best, utilize his height and reach advantages to keep Muhammad at bay and defend the grappling exchanges to outstrike him at range throughout the fight to retain his welterweight title.

UFC 304: Belal Muhammad Predictions July 27th

Belal Muhammad (23-3)?is finally getting his long-awaited UFC title shot after campaigning for it for quite some time now while dominating some of the top fighters in the division during his rise to become the No. 1 contender.

Over the last five years Belal Muhammad has amassed a 9-fight winning streak with wins over top contenders in the welterweight division like Gilbert Burns, Sean Brady, Vicente Luque, Stephen Thompson, and Demian Maia.

Now, Muhammad will be looking to make it 10 wins in a row and become the next UFC welterweight champion when he steps into hostile territory to take on England's own Leon Edwards this weekend in Manchester, England at UFC 304.

In this matchup, we are going to see two completely different fighters than we saw during this first encounter which ended abruptly due to an eye poke. Both Muhammad and Edwards have gotten exponentially better over the years which will make this fight highly competitive.

• Since that No Contest against Edwards back in 2021, Muhammad has won 13 of the 16 rounds that he fought in his decision victories in the four fights leading up to his title shot showing how dominant he has been over the last five years.

Muhammad will need to push the pace and make this a gritty and ugly fight that's where he will have the advantage. He has the cardio to push a hard pace for the full 25 minutes and that could be the difference in this fight.

We've seen Edwards fade as the fight moves to the championship rounds and it will be up to Muhammad to push him to the brink of exhaustion with his forward pressure, mixing in his combinations, and landing takedowns. Muhammad is better than many people give him credit for and he has the tools to not only get the win but dominate and become the next undisputed welterweight champion.

UFC 304: LEON EDWARDS vs BELAL MUHAMMAD FANDUEL ODDS FOR JULY 27

MONEY LINE

• LEON EDWARDS: -250
• BELAL MUHAMMAD: +190

PROPS

• LEON EDWARDS BY POINTS: +110
• LEON EDWARDS BY SUBMISSION: +1500
• LEON EDWARDS BY KNOCKOUT/TKO: +330
• BELAL MUHAMMAD BY POINTS: +390
• BELAL MUHAMMAD BY KNOCKOUT/TKO: +950
• BELAL MUHAMMAD BY SUBMISSION: +1400

OVER/UNDER (ROUNDS TOTAL)

• OVER 4.5 ROUNDS (-215)
• UNDER 4.5 ROUNDS (+168)

BEST UFC 304 ODDS FOR LEON EDWARDS vs BELAL MUHAMMAD

• Belal Muhammad is the betting underdog in his matchup against Leon Edwards. DraftKings Sportsbook is offering the best odds at (+210)
• Leon Edwards comes in as the heavy favorite. FanDuel Sportsbook offers the best odds for bettors at (-250)
• The current best odds for the total, which is at 4.5 Rounds (-200) for the over and (+150) for the under, are offered by Bet365.

FINAL EDWARDS-MUHAMMAD PICK & PREDICTION

This is a fantastic matchup for the main event for this UFC 304 PPV event for the UFC Welterweight Championship.

Ultimately, expect these two to come out looking take each other's heads off from the get-go but their toughness will have this fight go the distance where Edwards will be the one winning the exchanges on the feet to get the nod on the judge's scorecards.

FINAL EDWARDS-MUHAMMAD PICK & PREDICTION: LEON EDWARDS (-250)