The battle for the UFC welterweight belt is in full swing as Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad are all set to lay their hands on each other at UFC 304. The duo initially clashed against each other back in 2021. However, the fight was declared a no-contest due to an accidental eye-poke at the beginning of the second round. Three years after their inaugural clash, the duo is back to finish what had been pending for years now. Now, the anticipation is high as they finally look to conclude their unfinished business. Despite being an underrated rivalry, their recent face-off was so intense that both teams nearly came to blows.

The Manchester event has been exciting so far, and the main fight is yet to take place. Following the Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev fiasco, Team Edwards and Team Muhammad have now faced off at the pre-fight press conference. Let’s take a closer look.

Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad’s team came close to hitting each other at UFC 304 press conference

The official pre-fight press conference featured a hea͏ted ͏f͏ace-off ͏bet͏ween two of the biggest fighters in ͏t͏h͏e p͏romoti͏on. Edwards and Muh͏ammad tr͏ied their best to int͏im͏idate each͏ oth͏er, but neither of͏ the͏m fl͏inche͏d. After the face-o͏f͏f, as ͏Edwards was heading͏ to his dressin͏g roo͏m, his team began chanting ͏’R͏emember The ͏Name’͏.͏ This interact͏ion ͏was f͏ul͏ly capture͏d on ͏camer͏a.

After the͏ callout, Muham͏ma͏d re͏acted with a ͏smile and was ready to face them, but the offic͏ials stopped him and eventually escorted him to ͏t͏he dressin͏g room as well. How͏ever, ͏Team Belal was ͏not a͏s calm. His entire team moved towa͏rd Edwards’ team for ͏a confrontation. ͏As things began ͏to heat up, Dana White and ͏the officials stepped in ͏to ͏control the͏ situation from escalating further.

͏The UFC Supremo urged both of the teams to maintain the decorum of the event. Soon after, the security came in to calm the situation. Multiple angles captured different perspectives of the commotion, but one thing is certain: their clash has just become more personal. However, the confrontation between them wasn’t the only dramatic incident before the official match-up.

When Manel Kape and Mohammad Mokaev threw hands before their fight

One of the most heated rivalries in the flyweight division is the feud between Mokaev and Kape. Both the fighters are about to clash with each other on the UFC 304 prelim card. However, it appears that both flyweights couldn’t wait to throw their hands at each other. Everything was fine until both individuals met each other at the host’s hotel in Manchester. Both Mokaev and Kape threw some dirty shots at each other.

According to Kape and his coach, it was Mokaev who started the fight. The fighter took to his X handle to address the situation. “What kind of Muslim are you? You gave me Salam asked to take a picture and then tried to punch me in the betrayal, I can see now you are not a child of the (Dagestan), because there are created men.”

According to Kape’s coach, Eric Nicksick, Mokaev initially asked for a photo to celebrate their shared Muslim brotherhood. However, as soon as Kape let his guard down, Mokaev took a swing at him. Fortunately, no one was injured in the altercation. What’s your take on this incident? Share your thoughts in the comments below.