5 biggest takeaways from UFC 304: Jon Jones’ legacy loses credibility without Tom Aspinall title unification fight

What mattered most at UFC 304 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England? Here are a few post-fight musings …

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5. Muhammad Mokaev, Manel Kape fail to meet hype

It’s hard to recall a fight in recent UFC history that had so much beef leading in, but ended up falling so flat after we witnessed the saga between [autotag]Muhammad Mokaev[/autotag] and [autotag]Manel Kape[/autotag].

Listen, I get. These are flyweights. They inherently aren’t a high knockout division and are prone to longer fights that are heavy on grappling. These two, in particular, aren’t finishing specialists in their own right anyway. But given what we saw in the months and weeks leading into this, and in the moments in the octagon before where dozens of security guards had to fend them off before Bruce Buffer’s announcement – I mean, come on.

Initial annoyances aside, I can also understand the circumstances that led to this fight not meeting expectations. Kape (19-7 MMA, 4-3 UFC) fought the majority of the bout with a mangled toe and was lucky he didn’t lose by injury TKO when the displacement first happened. And for Mokaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC), he has the much longer career ahead where he can come back from this and was on the final fight of his contract. He’s also trying to hold onto that undefeated record, and did so with his unanimous decision.

The most interesting question coming out of this was if Mokaev would be re-signed to the UFC, and, well…

4. Dana White says farewell to Mokaev

UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] didn’t keep us in suspense for long about Mokaev’s future. He gave the 23-year-old a “good luck” and sent him packing from the promotion, saying matchmakers did not want to sign him to a new deal and that PFL would get “a great undefeated guy.”

It was harsh, but not shocking. Mokaev was a thorn in the side of the UFC all week with his antics, and his post-fight claims he was told by the UFC brass not to use takedowns in his fights is not going to get in the good graces of the company – true or not.

Could Mokaev and his very talented manager, Tim Simpson, find a way to mend fences? Perhaps. We’ve seen fighters come back from worse and figure things out.

Mokaev better hope that’s the case, honestly, because there’s no real good flyweight options for him outside the UFC at present. And even looking around at non-UFC possibilities at bantamweight, it’s not exactly a plethora of opportunities.

3. Paddy Pimblett makes his statement

For all the doubt around [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] entering his fight against King Green, which on paper was his most difficult to date – the polarizing Scouser made it look easy.

A critic could argue that Green set himself up for his first submission loss since January 2009 by shooting for an ill-time takedown. Sure. But Pimblett took the torch from there and finished the job about as brutally as one could, then he shoved it down everyone’s throat.

It’s now time for everything to get real. Pimblett signed a new UFC contract days before the fight, and he’s likely going to find himself ranked next week. He called out Renato Moicano, which seems appropriate whether he wins or loses against Benoit Saint Denis in Paris on Sept. 28.

If this was Pimblett fighting up to the level of his perceived competition, then it’s about to get real fun with his career.

2. Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones needs to happen

I don’t know what more needs to be said outside of the headline, here, because [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] has done everything he can at this point.

I’ve been against the booking of Jones vs. Stipe Miocic from Day 1, and am only being proven more right as time goes on. It’s a fine fight in a vacuum, but an utterly farcical matchup as an undisputed heavyweight championship bout in the aftermath of Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) smashing Curtis Blaydes to defend the interim belt in a mere 60 seconds.

There were years and years where questions about Jones needing to further establish his legacy were responded to with mockery and disdain. I was part of that camp. But if he beats Miocic in November and retires from the sport without a unification fight against Aspinall, it will be a stain on his resume. I now fully believe that.

There’s nothing more to add.

1. Belal Muhammad’s title coronation draws ire

I wasn’t bold enough to make my official MMA Junkie staff prediction in favor of [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag], but I would by lying if I said I didn’t have a hunch he was going to dethrone Leon Edwards and claim the welterweight title.

It’s sometimes hard to see the line between confidence and false confidence. The ridiculous amount of talk from Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) since his no contest with Edwards in March 2021 and especially on fight week made me question that as much as ever. But then he came out and got the job done.

Was is the “torture” he said he would deliver on media day? No. Obviously not. Maybe only for some of those watching. But compared to expectations, this wasn’t that bad of a fight. Muhammad did what everyone expected he would do if he was going to win and did it to near-perfection, and now the belt is in his possession.

We now live in a world where Muhammad holds gold, and there appears to be many people out there who aren’t too happy with it – including UFC CEO White. Nevertheless, Muhammad’s story shows that meritocracy in this sport does still exist to some degree. It’s way out of whack overall, but Muhammad kept winning until he couldn’t be denied, and then came through. No matter how you feel about him, if you appreciate this is as a real sport in any way, you have to respect it.