Leon Edwards was been dealt a crushing blow at UFC 304, succumbing to his first defeat in the Octagon since 2016 as Belal Muhammad clinched victory by decision and snatched the UFC Welterweight title. Edwards was forced to swallow his pre-fight talk, having branded Muhammad “deluded” and a far cry from Khabib, only to be outclassed on fight night.
The British fighter admitted to feeling “tired” in the build-up to the bout, but was forever gracious in defeat.
Muhammad appears to be Edwards’ nemesis, with their initial clash in 2021 ending in a no contest due to an accidental eye poke. Throughout the bout, Edwards struggled against Muhammad’s strategy, which saw him repeatedly taken down, effectively grounding the champion for much of the fight.
Despite securing a dominant lead, Muhammad played it safe in the final round, maintaining control without exerting full force. Edwards’ moment of hope flickered when he landed a powerful elbow with just 35 seconds left, but time was not on his side to stage a comeback.
After a triumphant win and subsequent defence against ex-champion Kamaru Usman, Edwards now faces the loss of his title, with a potential trilogy against Muhammad looming. In the co-main event, Tom Aspinall made short work of Curtis Blaydes, claiming a knockout victory within one minute to retain his interim UFC Heavyweight Champion title, redeeming himself from a previous setback caused by a knee injury against the fighter in 2022.
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After his first and only defeat in the UFC, it took Aspinall an entire year to return to the Octagon. Despite his problematic knee, Aspinall has now managed to secure three first-round finishes and is eyeing a high-stakes title fight against the best heavyweight in UFC history.
“We needed to put that one to bed before it became a freak accident, and now I got my revenge thank god,” said Aspinall after trouncing Blaydes. “I’m the best finisher in the UFC, if I smoke one (punch) I’m done.”
“I’ve just had a chat with the boss, is anyone keen to see Tom Aspinall vs Jon Jones? ” Following this, the crowd inside the Co-op Live Arena started cheering as they made their feelings on the future fight clear. Now, the UFC CEO, also known as “the boss man” according to Aspinall, has a mammoth event to plan provided Jones takes up the challenge.
Ahead of Aspinall’s victory, Paddy Pimblett clinched a submission win as his dispute with Bobby Green concluded with a brutal end. Pimblett better known as “Paddy the Baddy” confessed to nearly withdrawing from the event due to mental health troubles stemming from the “worst fight camp of his life”.
In a Sky Sports interview, he revealed: “Around five or six weeks ago my coach was considering pulling me out. Mentally I was just not present… Five weeks ago I was thinking about how this was the worst camp of my life, what’s happening here?’
“A few things went wrong, and even a couple of weeks ago a few things personally were getting me down. A bit of depression. But I’ve got that attitude and that positivity that I can turn it around. You know my confidence, so when my coach talked about pulling me out, I was like: ‘No chance’.”
UFC 304 results in full
- Belal Muhammad defeats Leon Edwards by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
- Tom Aspinall defeats Curtis Blaydes by TKO (strikes) at 1:00 of Round 1
- Paddy Pimblett defeats King Green by submission (triangle choke) at 3:22 of Round 1
- Gregory Rodrigues defeats Christian Leroy Duncan by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Arnold Allen defeats Giga Chikadze by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Nathaniel Wood defeats Daniel Pineda by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
- Bruna Brasil defeats Molly McCann by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Jake Hadley defeats Caolan Loughran by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Muhammad Mokaev defeats Manel Kape by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Oban Elliott defeats Preston Parsons by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Modestas Bukauskas defeats Marcin Prachnio by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 3:12 of Round 3
- Sam Patterson defeats Kiefer Crosbie by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 2:50 of Round 1
- Mick Parkin defeats Lukasz Brzeski by KO (strikes) at 3:23 of Round 1
- Shauna Bannon defeats Alice Ardelean by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
