Fans invited to UFC 204 open workouts, weigh-ins, autograph sessions, Q&A event

Heading to UFC 204 this week? Before Saturday’s event, you can attend some fight-week festivities.

UFC 204 takes place Saturday at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

In the headliner, champion Michael Bisping (29-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC), who’s No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, looks for his first title defense and hopes to avenge a long-ago loss when he meets No. 14-ranked Dan Henderson (29-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC). No. 6-ranked middleweight Vitor Belfort (25-12 MMA, 14-8 UFC) meets No. 9 Gegard Mousasi (39-6-2 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in the co-headliner.

To accommodate North American TV audiences, the event takes place in its normal time slot and kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT), which is 11:30 p.m. BST local time. That means the main card begins at 3 a.m. local time.

Prior to the late-night PPV, fans can attend some pre-event activities – all of which come at more-accommodating hours:

– On Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. BST, fans can attend UFC 204 open workouts at The Orient Stage at intu Trafford Centre in Manchester. Attendees include all four headliners and co-headliners.

– On Friday at 6 p.m. BST, UFC 204 ceremonial weigh-ins take place at Central Hall at Manchester Central. Doors open to fans at 5 p.m. BST. (Fans must secure a free ticket for the weigh-ins from Ticketmaster, according to the UFC.)

– Additionally, on Friday at 6:45 p.m. BST, a fan Q&A session immediately follows the weigh-ins. UFC commentator/retired fighter Dan Hardy hosts the session, which includes guests Demian Maia and Alexander Gustafsson.

The full schedule, which includes some autograph sessions (via Twitter):

For more on UFC 204, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.