UFC CEO Dana White’s security team for UFC 304 may have their work cut out for them come fight night! The highly anticipated event is set to take place in Manchester on July 27 and already the tensions have been running high between several fighters on the card. In the past, feuds have spilled outside the cage as well, with the most notable example being Khabib Nurmagomedov launching himself out of the Octagon and getting into a melee with Conor McGregor’s team at UFC 229 in 2018.

But while Kamaru Usman called out that UFC 304 is set to be an exciting night of clashes, his predictions have seemingly come true before the event. Numerous reports have emerged of fighters getting involved in heated altercations with Muhammad Mokaev, Manel Kape, Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad all getting into varying degrees of clashes before they even got to the venue and it looks like things are only going to get more intense!

Kamaru Usman hands Dana White a warning as UFC 304 build-up filled with close calls and a brawl   

In a preview of UFC 304 on the ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast on YouTube, Kamaru Usman proclaimed, “It’s going to be an exciting fight in Manchester, it’s going to be a rowdy, rowdy crowd. Let me tell you something, if there’s something the UK fans know and there’s something that they love, it is fighting. It is fight sports, whether it’s boxing, whether it’s MMA they love it.”

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ also shared a memorable incident from his UFC 286 clash against Leon Edwards to highlight the ‘rowdiness’ of the UK fans. Usman revealed, “I’m telling you when I fought there in the UK, on my arrival into the arena they were carrying someone out and I’m talking six security guards. One on one leg, one on the other leg, arms, they’re holding his body. A guy was belligerently drunk, he was fighting them and they were trying to get him out of the Arena.”

The excitement surrounding UFC 304 isn’t just talk because the atmosphere surrounding a lot of matchups on the card has become charged with energy and conflict in the time leading up to fight night. Manel Kape and Muhammad Mokaev, set to face each other in a crucial flyweight matchup got involved in a free-for-all between their teams at the fighter’s hotel in Manchester.

While the two were eventually separated, the heat carried over to social media as both took shots at one another by sharing images of the scuffle and ‘Starboy’ even shared a photo of Mokaev with a cut above his eyebrow from the clash with the caption, “my b*tch forever.” The main event of the night, a re-match between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad with the welterweight title on the line also saw the two fighters and their teams get into it on two separate occasions!

UFC 304 main event fighters’ teams separated before things escalated  

Belal Muhammad has a score to settle with Leon Edwards and the two are raring to go at each other. In an interview with MMA Junkie, ‘Remember The Name’ shared that he didn’t even have to wait for the UFC 304 press conference to stare his rival in the eyes as he detailed a heated encounter with ‘Rocky’s team in an elevator!

Muhammad shared, “I just saw him right now in the elevator, he looked like he was afraid, him and his brother and coach, they all looked like cowards. His coach was trying to talk a little bit of trash…”. While the elevator incident thankfully didn’t devolve into a brawl, the two teams came very close later at the press conference.

During their stare-down, Edwards attempted to rattle Muhammad by faking a lunge at him but the challenger kept his cool and didn’t even flinch. However, in the video of the incident, the teams of both fighters were seen standing across from one another with insults flying back and forth as the UFC staff then separated them.

As UFC 304 nears, it’s clear that the event will not only feature high-level MMA action but also an atmosphere charged with intense rivalries and heated exchanges. With the fighters and their teams already demonstrating their eagerness to settle scores, fans and UFC boss Dana White can expect an explosive night of fights in Manchester! Which fight are you looking forward the most at UFC 304? Let us know in the comments below!