Sherdog’s Top 10: Can’t-Miss Fights of July

An opportunity for which Belal Muhammad has worked his entire career now stares him directly in the face.

The 35-year-old Chicago native will challenge Leon Edwards for the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight crown when their rematch headlines UFC 304 on July 27 at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. Their first encounter ended in a no contest due to an accidental eye poke in 2021. Muhammad enters the Octagon with fuel from a five-fight winning streak filling his tanks. He has not fought since May 6, 2023, when he took a five-round unanimous decision from Gilbert Burns in their UFC 288 pairing. Muhammad has not experienced defeat since being outpointed by Geoff Neal more than five years ago. Edwards, meanwhile, has rattled off four consecutive victories. The Team Renegade standout last suited up at UFC 296, where he retained his title with a unanimous verdict over Colby Covington on Dec. 16. Edwards, 32, has never been finished in his 26-fight career.

The Edwards-Muhammad showdown is but one can’t-miss fight in July. Here are nine more:

Rae Yoon Ok vs. Alibeg Rasulov
ONE on Prime Video 23
July 5 | Bangkok, Thailand
The fate of the interim ONE lightweight title will be decided when Ok takes on Rasulov under the ONE Championship banner at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. A unification bout opposite incumbent champion Christian Lee figures to await the victor, either in later 2024 or early 2025. Ok—who holds a 1-1 record in his head-to-head series with the aforementioned Lee—has won six of his past seven fights. He last fought at ONE on Prime Video 10, where he was awarded a unanimous decision over onetime King of the Cage titleholder Lowen Tynanes on May 5, 2023. On the other side of the equation, the undefeated Rasulov carries a 14-0 record into his promotional debut. The 31-year-old Turk has delivered 10 of his 14 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

John Sweeney vs. Rafael do Nascimento
LFA 188
July 12 | Chandler, Arizona
Legacy Fighting Alliance champions generally find their way to the UFC at some point—a tradition that figures to hold true for Sweeney sooner or later. “Hollywood” will put his bantamweight crown on the line against Nascimento when they lock horns at Wild Horse Pass Resort, just outside of Phoenix. Sweeney has pieced together a career-best seven-fight winning streak since his July 2020 technical knockout loss to Cody Durden. He seized the vacant bantamweight throne with a five-round unanimous decision over Allan Begosso at LFA 160 a little more than a year ago. Nascimento, meanwhile, has recorded five victories across his past six outings. The X-Gym rep boasts six submissions among his nine career wins, five of them via rear-naked choke.

Rose Namajunas vs. Tracy Cortez
UFC on ESPN 59
July 13 | Denver
Namajunas still offers enough star power to be considered a marquee attraction at the sport’s highest level. The two-time women’s strawweight champion draws her latest assignment when she confronts Cortez in a main event at Ball Arena. Namajunas, 32, has posted seven wins across her past 10 outings, losing only to Jessica Andrade, Carla Esparza and Manon Fiorot—three women with a combined record of 57-20. “Thug Rose” last fought on March 23, when she laid claim to a five-round unanimous decision over former Jungle Fight titleholder Amanda Ribas at UFC on ESPN 53. A short-notice substitution for Maycee Barber, Cortez steps into the spotlight on the strength of an 11-fight winning streak. She last strapped on the gloves at UFC Fight Night 227, where she outstruck Jasmine Jasudavicius to a 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 unanimous decision on Sept. 16.

Pawel Pawlak vs. Damian Janikowski
KSW 96
July 20 | Lodz, Poland
A year and some change into his reign as Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki middleweight champion, Pawlek sees a familiar face standing across from him. “Plastinho” risks his title in a hotly anticipated rematch with Janikowski at the Atlas Arena, where the Poles are set to headline the company’s eighth event of 2024. Pawlek, 35, sports a 9-0-1 record across his past 10 bouts—a run that includes a three-round unanimous decision over Janikowski in their first “Fight of the Night” confrontation in 2021. He last saw action on Dec. 16, when he turned away Michal Materla on points at KSW 89. Renowned for his durability, Pawlek has never been stopped as a pro. On the other side of the equation, Janikowski has won three fights in a row since he submitted to a Tom Breese guillotine choke a little less than two years ago. He was a bronze medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Hyder Amil vs. Jeong Yeong Lee
UFC on ESPN 60
July 20 | Las Vegas
The undefeated Amil looks ready, willing and able to climb the UFC’s treacherous bantamweight ladder. In his latest test, the Gilbert Melendez protégé tackles the once-beaten Lee in an intriguing preliminary pairing at the UFC Apex. A former Legacy Fighting Alliance headliner and 2023 graduate of Dana White’s Contender Series, the 34-year-old Amil has finished six of his nine opponents thus far. He made his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night 236, where he unwound Fernie Garcie with punches in the second round of their Feb. 10 battle at 135 pounds. Lee, meanwhile, avenged the only loss on his ledger and now finds himself on an eight-fight winning streak. He held the Road Fighting Championship featherweight title prior to his arriving the UFC.

Shaj Haque vs. Nicolas Leblond
Cage Warriors 174
July 20 | London
Haque by now has grown accustomed to would-be successors nipping at his heels. “Superman” answers the call as Cage Warriors Fighting Championship flyweight titleholder for a second time when he throws hands with Lebond inside the Indigo at the O2. Haque, 33, has strung together six straight victories since his technical knockout defeat to Jake Hadley during the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly a year has passed since his most recent outing. Haque outpointed Michele Martignoni to a unanimous verdict at CW 158 on July 29, retaining his 125-pound championship in the process. In his way stands Lebond. The Frenchman stakes his claim as the No. 1 contender with four consecutive finishes, his tear punctuated by a third-round technical knockout Scott Malone at CW 171 in April.

Losene Keita vs. Predrag Bogdanovic
Oktagon MMA 59
July 20 | Bratislava, Slovakia
Two of Europe’s most promising young talents are set to lock horns under the Oktagon MMA flag when Keita toes the line against Bogdanovic in a Tipsport Gamechanger lightweight quarterfinal at Aegon Arena. The eventual tournament winner receives 300,000 euros. Keita has secured eight of his 13 career victories by knockout or technical knockout and suffered his only setback on July 29, when a freak foot injury prematurely ended his clash with Mate Sanikidze at Oktagon 45. The 26-year-old Belgian has since posted back-to-back wins over Niko Samsonidse and Agy Sardari. Bogdanovic, meanwhile, enters the quarterfinal with a stellar 16-1 record in tow. The Serbian last fought at Oktagon 54, where he laid claim to a unanimous decision over Hafeni Nafuka on March 2.

Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes
UFC 304
July 27 | Manchester, England
As the MMA world awaits the next move from incumbent champion Jon Jones, Aspinall goes about his business as usual as interim titleholder. Next up: a rematch with Elevation Fight Team’s Blaydes. The two men met previously two years ago at UFC Fight Night 208, where a knee injury to Aspinall concluded their encounter just 15 seconds after it began. The Englishman underwent reconstructive surgery and did not skip a beat upon his return, battering Marcin Tybura to a 73-second stoppage at UFC Fight Night 224 on July 22 before requiring just 69 seconds to dispatch Sergei Pavlovich in their UFC 295 scrap for the interim belt. On the other side of the ledger, the 33-year-old Blaydes has recorded four wins across his past five assignments and cleared his latest hurdle with room to spare on March 9, when he wrecked Jailton Almeida with second-round punches at UFC 299.

Makoto Takahashi vs. Hiromasa Ougikubo
Rizin Fighting Federation “Super Rizin 3”
July 28 | Saitama, Japan
A blue-chip Japanese prospect figures to get a stern test from a proven battle-tested veteran when Takahashi zeroes in on Ougikubo as part of the Rizin Fighting Federation’s latest stop at the Saitama Super Arena. A former Cage Fury Fighting Championships titleholder and reigning Deep champion, Takahashi steps back into view having compiled a 17-2-1 record with one no contest. The 23-year-old Paraestra Matsudo product last competed at Rizin 46, where he submitted Jung Hyun Lee with an arm-triangle a little more than four minutes into their April 29 altercation. It was the first first-round finish of Takahashi’s career. Ougikubo, 37, was a finalist on Season 24 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and held titles in two weight classes in Shooto. Wins over John Dodson, Kai Asakura, Naoki Inoue, Takafumi Otsuka and Shintaro Ishiwatari anchor his resume.