A long-time contender in Belal Muhammad entered Manchester and dominated against U.K. Leon Edwards to win the UFC welterweight title at UFC 304.
Muhammad landed nine takedowns against Edwards, a career-high from any Edwards opponent. He rag-dolled Edwards around for most of the fight while also landing crisp shots to the face of an open Edwards. Edwards did land competent blows, including early ones to the chest of Muhammad. However, they were all for naught, as Muhammad didn’t back down.
Muhammad landed combinations, including a one-two and kick to the head, with uppercuts in the early rounds slowing Edwards down. Edwards got dropped on his head at one point, similar to Jessica Andrade vs. Rose Namajunas in 2019.
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Edwards attempted to fight back after a bit, but his control time offense wasn’t as dominant. It wasn’t until the last round he landed an elbow that forced Muhammad to bleed, but he couldn’t finish his opponent. Muhammad won via unanimous decision.
It was a rematch from 2021 when an eye poke to Muhammad forced the fight to end. Unbeaten since 2019, Muhammad finally reached the top of the mountain. Edwards lost his first fight since 2015, ending a 13-fight unbeaten streak. Regarding Muhammad, UFC fans will now and always “Remember The Name.”
Tom Aspinall proved he is one of the best heavyweights on the planet when it took him one minute to take out Curtis Blaydes to retain the interim UFC heavyweight title. Avenging a rematch where he injured himself in the first minute of the contest, Aspinall clipped Blaydes with several big shots. A right connected and dropped Blaydes, and Aspinall went for the attack like a shark.
A few shots later, Aspinall took out Blaydes, who earned another loss in his never-ending quest for gold. Aspinall called out Jon Jones, the UFC heavyweight champion, who is rumored to fight Stipe Miocic in November. A fight between the champion and interim champion is a must after tonight, though UFC CEO Dana White is adamant Jones vs. Miocic will happen.
“Hello, Jon. I have nothing against you personally, I just think I’m better than you. I just know I can beat you,” Aspinall said.
Paddy Pimblett put King Green to sleep in the biggest win of his young UFC career. The former Bobby Green, a hard hitter, was a massive test for “The Baddy,” a true favorite in the U.K.
The standup favored Pimblett, who had a long reach. Green tried a takedown, but Pimblett caught him with a kick and put Green in a guillotine. He transitioned to the armbar, and Green was out right away.
That was Green’s first submission loss since 2009. Pimblett will now be a ranked lightweight by the start of the week. He then called out Renato Moicano, ranked tenth at lightweight and on a three-fight win streak.
“Statement made, b-----,” said Pimblett.
Gregory Rodrigues rag-dolled Christian Leroy Duncan around the octagon for three rounds. Rodrigues, on a three-fight win streak, forced Duncan to the corner several times, showing his well-roundedness while suffering from a nasty cut near his eye.
Opening the main card was a fight with a quick pace in Arnold Allen vs. Giga Chikadze. Ipswitch's Allen did not stop attacking Chikadze, pressing forward for all three rounds. His feet barely stayed on the mat. Using pressure, Allen outworked Chikadze to end a two-fight losing streak.
The Sporting News provided results from the entire UFC 304 card!
UFC 304 full card results
Main Card
- Belal Muhammad def. Leon Edwards (c) via unanimous decision for the UFC welterweight title (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
- Tom Aspinall (ic) def. Curtis Blaydes via KO (1:00 into round one) for the interim UFC heavyweight title
- Paddy Pimblett def. King Green via triangle choke submission (3:22 into round one)
- Gregory Rodrigues def. Christian Leroy Duncan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Arnold Allen def. Giga Chikadze via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Prelims
- Nathaniel Wood def. Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
- Bruna Brasil def. Molly McCann via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Jake Hadley def. Caolan Loughran via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Muhammad Mokaev def. Manel Kape via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Early Prelims
- Oban Elliott def. Preston Parsons via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Marcin Prachnio via arm-triangle choke (3:12 into round three)
- Sam Patterson def. Kiefer Crosbie via arm-triangle choke (2:50 into round one)
- Mick Parkin def. Lukasz Brzeski via TKO (3:22 into round one)
- Shauna Bannon def. Alice Ardelean via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)