Edwards vs Muhammad II

Who won Edwards vs Muhammad II?

Belal Muhammad beat Leon Edwards by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest during the main event of UFC 304 – Manchester, on Saturday 27th July 2024 at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.

The scorecards were announced as 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 in favor of the winner Belal Muhammad.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Welterweight division, which meant the weight limit was 170 pounds (12.1 stone or 77.1 KG).

This contest was for the UFC Welterweight championship.

Edwards vs Muhammad II stats

Leon Edwards stepped into the octagon with a record of 22 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 7 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Belal Muhammad made his way to the cage with a record of 23 wins, 3 losses and 0 draws, 5 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Leon Edwards' 18th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2014. Belal Muhammad marked his 19th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2016.

Leon Edwards' UFC record stood at 14-3-0, while Belal Muhammad's came in at 15-3-0.

The stats suggested Edwards had a slight advantage in power over Muhammad, with a 32% knock out percentage over Muhammad's 22%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Edwards had a slight advantage over Muhammad, with a 14% submission rate over Muhammad's 4%.

Leon Edwards was the younger man by 3 years, at 33 years old.

Edwards had a height advantage of 3 inches over Muhammad. That also extended to a 3-inch reach advantage.

Edwards was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 1 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2011, 1 year and 2 months earlier than Muhammad, whose first professional fight was in 2012. He had fought 2 less professional rounds, 82 to Muhammad's 84.

Edwards vs Muhammad II form

Edwards had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges 3 times.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Colby Covington at UFC 296 on 16th December 2023 by unanimous decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 on 18th March 2023 by majority decision in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at o2 Arena, London, United Kingdom.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 on 20th August 2022 by knockout in the 5th round in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, United States.

Before that, he was victorious against Nate Diaz at UFC 263 on 12th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Gila River Arena, Glendale.

His fight against Belal Muhammad at UFC Vegas 21 on 13th March 2021 ended in a no contest.

Muhammad had won all 5 of his most recent fights, stopping 1opponent and going the distance 4 times.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Gilbert Burns at UFC 288 on 6th May 2023 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Prudential Center, Newark, United States.

Previous to that, he had beaten Sean Brady at UFC 280 on 22nd October 2022 by knockout in the 2nd round at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Vicente Luque at UFC Fight Night: Luque vs. Muhammad 2 on 16th April 2022 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas, United States.

Before that, he was victorious against Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night on 18th December 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

He had won against Demian Maia at UFC 263 on 12th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Gila River Arena, Glendale, United States.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Belal Muhammad had been fighting more than Leon Edwards.

Going to this contest, Leon Edwards had last fought 9 months and 2 days ago, while Belal Muhammad's last outing had been 1 year, 4 months and 12 days ago.

Edwards' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 6 months and 5 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 14 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 22 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 4.4 rounds on average.

Muhammad's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 3 months and 6 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 26 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 18 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.6 rounds on average.

What time did Edwards vs Muhammad II start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 4:25 AM UTC , which was 12:25 AM EST or 9:25 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 5:25 AM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Edwards vs Muhammad II?

Leon Edwards was a 9/25 (-280) favourite going into the contest, while Belal Muhammad made his way into the ring at 9/4 (+230) with oddsmakers.