UFC 304 – Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad 2 LIVE: ‘Rocky’ headlines huge Manchester card featuring Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann and Tom Aspinall

I don’t know where the 30-27 comes from, but the British victory is still going on!

The winner says: ‘Manchester, what’s going on! I’m still a young fighting veteran, I have the best team in the world, thanks for the support. In 2012 I was a refugee in this country and they accepted me. I want a title fight. Do I deserve a new UFC contract?’

Mokaev delivers a beautiful question mark kick early in the third period after doctors examine Kape’s toe and he is cleared to continue playing.

The key moment of the third came with two minutes to go, Mokev managed to force a takedown and escape a choke to end up on top, although he did get some elbows. The Brit gave up his position when Kape got to his feet in the last 30 seconds. Hard to predict…

Kape appears to have broken or dislocated his big toe and tries to repair it mid-fight, which was ill-advised as Mokaev came at him straight away. The Brit then took his man down in a scramble but grabbed the shorts and was warned by the referee before being put back to his feet. Kape then took what he thought was an eye poke, turned and Mokaev was chasing him again. A truly bizarre match so far. Probably Mokaev’s round.

The cheers quickly turned to boos in the arena after about three minutes of inactivity.

But then the round caught fire, or at least threatened to. Kape landed a strong left and Mokaev fired without success, it was the best blow of the first stanza and probably did enough to give him the advantage.

Just a few minutes in and the crowd is going wild. It’s deafening and they can smell blood.

The Brits had a run of victories in the preliminary rounds and Mokaev is looking to continue that trend in the second half of the show.

He is undefeated in the UFC so far and although he failed to become the youngest champion ever, he is still one of the rising stars in the sport.

It’s a real test against Kape tonight and the two need to be separated here in the cage before the fight even starts! This could be a crazy one!

Mohammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape

Jake Hadley vs. Caolan Loughran

Molly McCann vs Bruna Brazil

Nathanial Wood vs. Daniel Pineda

The victorious Briton said: ‘Feels damn good to shut the haters up. You guys are making a boy’s dreams come true, Manchester. I’ve spent so much of my career defending wrestlers and I saw the takedowns coming. Undefeated and undisputed in the UFC, like a proper Welsh gangster.’

Aspinall is one of the most versatile heavyweights around and has a number of ways to win tonight. It will be a hugely tough match against Curtis Blaydes, who he headed into London before injuring his knee 13 seconds in. It should be a more satisfying finish tonight…

Sophie Ellis-Bextor wasn’t likely to make the UFC playlist tonight, but between her previous fight and Bukauskas’ win there, she made a play and actually went down well with a crowd that was already engrossed in the fights so far. I’ve never seen it this busy for the early pre-lims, but this group is in it for the long haul.

Modestas Bukauskas and Marcin Prachnio just put on a great show for two and a half rounds.

The Lithuanian-British light heavyweight had his man on his feet in the second half and was on the verge of going out before landing a wild head kick from point blank range to change the momentum.

In the third round he withstood another attack, then managed to force a takedown and then execute a choke to finish a very, very durable Prachnio.

What kind of reception will Paddy Pimblett get tonight? Liverpool poster boy on Mancunian soil. Will the home crowd help determine whether King Green will get more support than he otherwise would across the pond? Things haven’t been smooth sailing for ‘The Baddy’ tonight and he has recently spoken openly about his mental health issues.

After a terrible debut – brutally knocked out by Ashmouz – Patterson has bounced back with two first-round finishes and tonight he defeated Kiefer Crosby by arm triangle choke. It took him a while to land, moving to mount and then back again, but eventually the tap came.

Parkin is now a perfect 10-0 with four of those fights coming in the UFC, but that was his first finish on the big show. The 6ft 4in heavyweight star is very much on the rise.

Shauna Bannon opened the first heats and thrilled the Irish fans at the Co-op Live Arena with a split decision victory.

Mick Parkin then took things to a whole other decibel level – hitting Łukasz Brzeski with a hard right hand over the jab before swarming him and taking him down. A huge win for the Englishman and hopefully a sign of things to come.

Shauna Bannon vs. Alice Ardelean

Mick Parkin vs. Lucasz Brzeski

Sam Patterson vs. Kiefer Crosby

Modestas Bukauskas vs. Marcin Prachnio

Oban Elliott vs. Preston Parsons

Mohammad Mokaev vs. Manel Kape

Jake Hadley vs. Caolan Loughran

Molly McCann vs Bruna Brazil

Nathanial Wood vs. Daniel Pineda

Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze

Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Gregory Rodrigues

Bobby Green vs Paddy Pimblett

Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes

Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad

The last time this massive travelling MMA roadshow visited Manchester was in October 2016, when Michael Bisping defended his title against Dan Henderson.

It was a brutal start time for the locals back then, just like tonight, but there is enough action to chase away the fatigue, so brace yourself for the next few hours. There are a whole host of top British fighters in action in the early pre-lims, pre-lims and later on the main card. Here we go!