Belal Muhammad finally got a win over Leon Edwards, but it came on Edwards’ home turf.
Muhammad stunned Edwards with a unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC 304 early Sunday morning. Muhammad held the Briton virtually in check throughout the bout, and many fans at Co-Op Live in Manchester, England, were so upset they left the arena early in the bout that they were extremely upset. Muhammad landed nearly 100 more strikes than Edwards and survived a late onslaught to win the welterweight belt.
Muhammad wasted no time in trying, taking Edwards down multiple times in the first round and clearly gaining the advantage early on. Muhammad took Edwards down almost immediately in the second round and then knocked him down again with a powerful drop to the head.
Edwards showed flashes throughout the bout, but a quick takedown at the end of the second round was his first real flash of inspiration, and in the final 30 seconds of the fifth round, Edwards landed multiple hard blows to Muhammad’s head, sending him falling to the mat with blood streaming from his face.
But it was too late, as Muhammad hung on to win a unanimous decision and take the welterweight title from Edwards.
The win improved Muhammad to 24-3 and included a 10-fight winning streak dating back to 2019 that included a no-contest finish against Edwards. Edwards fell to 22-4 with the loss, which was his first fight since losing to Kamaru Usman in 2015. Edwards came into the night coming off a unanimous decision win over Colby Covington in December.
Aspinall quickly takes down Blades
Tom Aspinall started well in the co-main event, successfully defending his interim heavyweight championship belt against Curtis Blaydes with a first round knockout win, to the cheers of the home crowd. Aspinall knocked Blaydes down with a left and then narrowly missed a right hand to the head, sending Blaydes staggering to the mat. Aspinall then pounced and landed a flurry of head shots, causing the referee to stop the bout after just one minute.
The win was Aspinall’s revenge for his loss to Blaydes in 2022. Blaydes defeated Aspinall, who went down with a leg injury just 15 seconds into the bout. Aspinall is now 15-3. He has won three straight bouts since his loss to Blaydes, most recently defeating Sergey Pavlovich in the first round at UFC 295 last fall. Blaydes is now 18-5 overall, having lost two of his last three fights.
Here’s how UFC 304 unfolded in real time.
The live broadcast has ended152 updates
