WHATS UP FIGHT FANS! MANCHESTER STAND UP!

Now I have strong connections to Manchester since birth, and if I could have attended 304, trust me I would have. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be tuned in LIVE on Saturday night! Plus I still have the pleasure of writing this article for Fight Bananas to breakdown the main card! So with that, LETS F*%KING GO!

1st up, we go to the card opener! What an opener it is!

FEATHERWEIGHT (135LBS)

(4)ARNOLD ALLEN V (9)GIGA CHIKADZE

Englands own Arnold Allen is still for me one of the dark horse of this division. People don’t talk about him as much as they really should! Yes he’s coming off 2 losses. But one of those was to the BMF Max Holloway, and the other was an extremely close decision to the 18-0 Movsar Evloev. Giga Chikadze is also legit! Boasting a 15-3 record and a stand up game that’s lightening quick. He enters the fight following a decision win against Alex Caceres.

Now I expect this fight to either be a 3 round slugfest filled with fireworks, or one of those 1st round holy shit moments! Giga will want to keep the fight at range and use his insane kicking game to slow Allen down. Allen will want to be in his face, and not allowing the time and space to operate! Allen is certainly the more complete fighter, he has knockout power and a solid ground game. But that doesn’t mean that Giga can’t win this fight. It’s just in the opinion of this writer, that Allen has the more routes to victory, and with a home crowd cheering him on, I expect him to get it done.

PREDICTION – Arnold Allen to win via KO/TKO

MIDDLEWEIGHT (185LBS)

CHRISTIAN LEROY DUNCAN V GREGORY RODRIGUES

I and others find it almost strange that this fights on the main card, whilst Mokaev v Kape is on the prelims. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great fight. Both guys rarely disappoint when it comes to putting on a show, and it’s a fight that when it was announced, I was like this is a quality match up! CLD & Robocop both enter with 2 fight win streaks, but unless we get a rare draw, only 1 man is extending it to 3.

CLD will want to keep this on the feet. It’s where he is most comfortable and does his best work. Robocop isn’t a slouch on the feet either, packing KO power of his own. But he also very good on the ground, and that for me is what’s going to be the big difference. Eventually I think he will take CLD down, and even if it isn’t at the 1st time of asking, he will finish the fight by ground and pound or submission! I fancy the later.

PREDICTION – Gregory Rodrigues via SUB

LIGHTWEIGHT (155LBS)

(14)KING GREEN V PADDY PIMBLETT

Strap in and hold on tight, as this one has the potential to bring the house down. Paddy the Baddy is coming for King Greens number 14 ranking! Even if he isn’t the bookies favourite in this fight, he’s certainly the people’s choice to get it done if you are English, or from Liverpool to be precise. Paddy is like marmite, some people love him, others hate him. Regardless the kid puts bums on seats and you will tune in to see him. King Green is a brilliant fighter. His takedown defence is exquisite. His stand up game is off the charts, with knockout power and insane speed. The dude doesn’t even put his hands up. He carries them low and relies on those crazy fast reflexes!

When this was announced I initially thought King Green was going to derail the Paddy win train. But as it’s got closer, and having considered how the fight matches up, I’m riding with The Baddy to get it done. Officially I am going Paddy to win via a close fought decision. But don’t be surprised if he finds a way to get Bobby down, and lock in one of the many submissions the BJJ black belt has in his arsenal.

PREDICTION – Paddy Pimblett to win via DEC

ITS TIME!!! Co main event on deck!

HEAVYWEIGHT (265LBS) TITLE FIGHT.

(IC)TOM ASPINALL V (4)CURTIS BLAYDES

My write up on this fight is probably going to be a bit like the fight. Short. If you’re even a casual MMA fan you probably know who both these guys are, and what happened in their first fight. If you don’t, basically Tom hurt his knee moments into the contest, which resulted in a KO win for Blaydes due to Toms injury. Unless that happens again, I see a different result this time.

Tom has said, and always does, come out looking for the finish. Curtis isn’t daft and he knows this, so he will look for the takedown almost immediately. His wrestling is possibly the best in the division. He knows it’s his best way to win. However, Tom ain’t daft either. He knows what to expect. He won’t go down easy and has solid takedown defence. On top of that he has an elite submission game, and his isn’t afraid to use it. If Blaydes does get him down, it won’t be easy to keep him there, or avoid the submission threat.

PREDICTION – Tom Aspinall wins via SUB

WELTERWEIGHT (170LBS) TITLE FIGHT. 

(C)LEON EDWARDS V (2)BELAL MUHAMMAD

The champ has a name, and it’s Leon Edwards. But will he still be that come the early hours of Sunday morning? Maybe. Belal has been on an absolute tear winning his last 9 fights. Plus he’s made no secret of the fact that he would take on Edwards anytime anywhere. Can’t say he isn’t confident. Edwards is though, the acid test. The number 1 guy, the best of the best.

This fight is a tale of 2 styles in my eyes. Leon is the best striker, and is elite on the feet. Whilst Belal has hands, he is the better grappler and only improving having training regularly in Dagestan with Khabib & Islam. Who boast the best grappling in MMA arguably.

Leon Edwards is rightly the favourite to win this fight and most people’s pick to get the W this weekend. Some of that is because some fans love to hate on Belal, not liking his style and discrediting the many wins on his record over top level fighters like Burns, Wonderboy and Brady to name a few. I just have a hunch of an upset. I can’t even really tell you why. Maybe it’s Belals heart and will to be champ. Do I think Leon’s underestimating the challenger? Maybe. Anyhow for me, Sunday morning in Manchester, we will a new champion and his name is Belal Muhammad.

PREDICTION – Belal Muhammad wins via DEC

Thanks for reading.

You can catch me on X/Twitter @PhilSoberedUp.