Belal Muhammad is the new UFC welterweight champion after his huge win over Leon Edwards on Sunday in Manchester, England. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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.
Belal is leaking, but heads to his corner with his arms raised
Yahoo Sports Staff
Wow Edwards just busted open Muhammad's face with an elbow
Yahoo Sports Staff
Edwards reverses with 40 seconds left!
Yahoo Sports Staff
Not to jinx him or anything but can you imagine how mad it’s going to make (some) MMA fans to hear “and new” before Belal’s name here in about a minute?
Hell of a bounce-back round for Edwards. He gave Muhammad a dose of his own medicine and kept him on the canvas for nearly the entire third round. 29-28 Muhammad.
The challenger is coming forward and landing more shots. His two takedowns were the major difference in the first despite Edwards landing a big body kick that made Belal wince.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Edwards gets taken down again with 40 seconds left in the first
Yahoo Sports Staff
Belal shoots early and gets the easy takedown 20 seconds in
But Leon is able to get back to his feet and the two are now trading shots in the center of the Octagon
Yahoo Sports Staff
No glove touch in this grudge match
Referee Mike Beltran did what he could to foster a congenial environment with a request for a glove touch. Belal and Leon opted for the awkward stare instead.
Next up: Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad for welterweight title
Who they are: Edwards is the UFC welterweight champ, a title he earned with a dramatic comeback knockout of Kamaru Usman that felt like something out of a movie. Muhammad is the guy who’s been pleading for a title shot while racking up wins, though his lack of star power made it a less than compelling pitch for the UFC.
Why it matters: Not only is the belt on the line, there’s also major bragging rights stakes for two guys who have a history and don’t care for each other. Their fight in 2021 ended in a no-contest after Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye. The bitterness between them has built to a boil here as Muhammad as vowed to walk through Edwards with ease. As much as they’d each like to win, both would absolutely hate to lose to the other. That might be a stronger motivation even than the title.
Yahoo Sports Staff
Really hope we don't get to a point where Jon Jones didn't give us a Francis Ngannou or Tom Aspinall fight.
There's no reason why anyone should consider Jones the champ. One fight in the division, fighting an inactive contender, prepping for retirement. Aspinall is the UFC HW champion.
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