Dana White announces major change to UFC 304 prompting savage dig from Leon Edwards

Dana White has announced a major change to UFC 304 just days before the hugely-anticipated event in Manchester.

Arguably the biggest ever MMA event held in the UK will take place on Saturday at the Co-op Live arena, with several British fighters on the card.

Welterweight champion Leon Edwards defends his title against Belal Muhammad in a rematch of their 2021 fight, which ended with a no contest result after an accidental eye poke on the Palestinian-American.

Interim heavyweight title holder Aspinall will face Curtis Blaydes in another rematch as he continues his journey towards a shot at the current division champion, Jon Jones.

Meanwhile, Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann and Arnold Allen also feature on the star-studded card.

At a press conference on Thursday to promote the event, UFC boss White agreed to double the amount given for the Performance of the Night bonuses for fighters – taking them from $50,000 (£38,864) to $100,000 (£77,728).

During the press conference, fighter King Green urged White to make the change, saying: "Uncle Dana, let's spice it up a little bit. Can we get one hundred Gs for it? Let's spice it up!"

To which White agreed, replying: "Leon says yes."

Muhammad and several other fighters then celebrated, prompting his opponent Edwards to swiftly respond: "Belal, don't worry about that.

"You're knocking nobody out."

It's not the first time White has agreed to increase the Performance of the Night bonuses for a UFC event.

Dana White increased the bonuses to $100K for #UFC304, and when Belal Muhammad was celebrating Leon said:

“Belal don’t worry about that, you’re knocking no one out.” 😭😭#UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/r7OgG1YrHK

— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 25, 2024

In April, White agreed to bump up bonuses for the historic UFC 300 event in Las Vegas to $300,000 (£233,188).

He also gave Alex Pereira $302,000 (£234,743) for his second-round KO victory over Jiri Prochazka at UFC 303 in June after he stepped in at late notice to save the event.

White's decision to increase the bonuses at UFC 304 comes after he confirmed the event had set an early record for the largest gate at the new Co-op Live, which was completed earlier this year.