The event will mark the promotion's fifth visit to Manchester and first since UFC 204 in October 2016.

A UFC Welterweight Championship bout between current champion Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad is expected to headline the event.The pair previously fought at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs. Muhammad in March 2021, where the fight was declared a no contest following an accidental eye poke which left Muhammad unable to continue.

An interim UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between the title holder Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes is set to co-headline the event. They previously met at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall in July 2022 in which Blaydes won after Aspinall injured his knee fifteen seconds into the bout keeping him out of competition for a year.

A middleweight bout between Christian Leroy Duncan and Robert Bryczek was scheduled for this event. However, Bryczek withdrew from the fight for unknown reasons and was replaced by former LFA Middleweight Champion Gregory Rodrigues.