Manchester United and Liverpool supporters given official warning to avoid UFC 304 venue ban

Fans attending UFC 304 at Manchester's Co-op Live on Saturday night have been told they will not be allowed into the venue if they wear football shirts.

The UFC returns to Manchester this weekend for the first time since 2016, with British champions Tom Aspinall and Leon Edwards headlining the event. Liverpool's big names Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann will also be fighting.

But ahead of fight night, fans who have purchased tickets for the paper-per-view event have been asked to not wear football shirts to the venue. It is expected that many football fans will be in attendance to back Aspinall, who hails from Manchester, as well as Liverpool's Pimblett and McCann.

On Wednesday, the Manchester Evening News was shown an email that was sent to ticket holders from Ticketmaster on behalf of the UFC, which read "We look forward to welcoming you to UFC 304 at Co-op Live on Saturday 27 July 2024.

"Ahead of planning your trip to Co-op Live, please be advised that football shirts will not be allowed into the venue. We kindly ask fans to avoid wearing football shirts for this event."

UFC 304 is not expected to finish until the early hours of Sunday morning with the first prelims starting at 11pm on Saturday, while Aspinall and Edwards' title defences are scheduled to begin after 4am.

Speaking to the MEN about the controversial time of the bouts, Aspinall said: "You know what, I’ve fought in all different time zones across the world and when you’re fighting, you’re fighting. Usually, I fight at about midnight. If you can fight at midnight but not four hours later, you’re not that good in the first place.

"Do you know what I mean? When you’re on, you’re on. And if you’re a professional athlete you should be ready to come on at any