UFC 304 takes place in England next weekend and yet despite that, it’s set to be a late night for fans in the UK…
The huge event is being held in Manchester on Saturday, July 27, with British stars Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall headlining the action.
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It’s a rare chance for fans to watch some of the UFC’s biggest fighters, but bizarrely, the main bouts will begin in the early hours of Sunday morning.
It’s a decision that has baffled all involved, so talkSPORT.com has taken a look at why this is the case…
Why does UFC 304 start at 3am?
UFC 304 is starting at 3am due to the American audience.
The preliminary card will begin at 11pm UK time on Saturday night but the main card isn’t set to get going until 3am on Sunday morning.
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This is because that time is 10pm ET in the USA, which is the traditional PPV time in the States.
The UFC are understood to have stuck with this start despite it being in the UK to maximise PPV sales.
It means that Aspinall will likely be defending his title in Manchester at around 5am with Edwards taking to the Octagon even later than that.
Speaking to talkSPORT MMA about the start time in May, Aspinall admitted: “It not ideal.
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“I think it’s worse for the fans than it is for me. I’m an athlete. I’ll adapt to it. I don’t emotionally attach myself to anything.
“If I have to be somewhere at a certain time, I’ll do it and that’s how you should be as a top-level, elite athlete.
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“It’s way worse for the Manchester fans who wanna watch it live. I wish it could be different for the fans and myself, but it isn’t so I’ll adjust accordingly.”
Edwards also had his say in June, telling talkSPORT Drive's Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent: "At the start, I was bit like 'Oh, why is it that time?'
"But I've brought in a specialist in sleep and they've given me a plan of how it will work.
Tom Aspinall reveals to Leon Edwards that he's going to use the same training method as him to prepare for UFC 304
"I thought I'd have to train at 5am in the morning every day straight away but they said basically 'Six weeks out we'll start switching your body clock and training'.
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"So my evening session will now become my first session, so at 5pm I'll do my first session and then I'll train again at midnight.
"And then each week I'll move both sessions forward an hour to adjust to the time so I'll sleep later and train later."