Belal Muhammad finally got his win over Leon Edwards, and he did so on Edwards’ home turf.
Muhammad stunned Edwards with a huge unanimous decision win in the main event at UFC 304 early on Sunday morning. Muhammad largely shut down the Englishman Edwards throughout the entire fight in a slow bout that left plenty of fans in Co-Op Live in Manchester, England, walking out of the arena early and very upset. Muhammad landed nearly 100 more total strikes than Edwards did and he survived a late flurry to grab the welterweight belt.
Muhammad didn’t waste any time in his challenge. He took Edwards down multiple times in the first round and clearly took the early advantage in their bout. Muhammad took him down again almost immediately in the second round, too, and then got him again with a massive drop to Edwards’ head.
Edwards had his flashes throughout the night, including with a quick takedown at the end of the second round in what was his first true flash of anything up until that point. He landed several massive blows to Muhammad’s head in the final 30 seconds of the fifth round, too, which sent blood pouring out of Muhammad’s face and onto the mat.
That, however, came too late. Muhammad held on in the end and grabbed the unanimous decision win to steal the welterweight title away from Edwards.
Muhammad now holds a 24-3 record after the win. He’s won 10 straight dating back to 2019, too, with the no-contest finish with Edwards in the middle of that stretch. Edwards dropped to 22-4 with the loss, which was his first since Kamaru Usman got him in 2015. Edwards entered the night coming off a unanimous decision win over Colby Covington in December.
Aspinall makes quick work of Blaydes
Tom Aspinall gave the local fans something to cheer about when the Englishman came out hot in the co-main event and successfully defended his interim heavyweight championship belt with a massive first-round knockout win over Curtis Blaydes. Aspinall just barely missed a right-handed head shot after drilling Blaydes with his left, which sent Blaydes stumbling back to the mat. Aspinall then pounced and delivered a fury of head shots, which had the official calling the fight just one minute in.
The win avenged Aspinall’s loss to Blaydes from the last time they squared off in 2022. Blaydes beat Aspinall in that bout, though Aspinall went down with a leg injury just 15 seconds into that fight. Aspinall now holds a 15-3 record. He’s won three straight since his loss to Blaydes, and he entered the night fresh off a first-round win over Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295 last fall. Blaydes dropped to 18-5 in his career, and he’s now lost two of his last three fights.
Here’s how UFC 304 unfolded in real time:
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