Leon Edwards is BEATEN by Belal Muhammad to spoil the party in Manchester at UFC 304… but Tom Aspinall destroy Curtis Blaydes with incredible first-round knockout

Leon Edwards was stripped of his UFC welterweight title by Belal Muhammad after falling to a unanimous decision defeat in Manchester.

The judges scored a pulsating contest 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in Muhammad’s favour with Edwards suffering a shock loss in the main event of UFC 304.

‘Rocky’ was dethroned on his third title defence despite landing a desperate flurry in the final round while the bloodied Muhammad, who broke down in tears after being crowned the new champion, took his formidable winning streak to ten fights.

The fight at the Co-op Live Arena, which took place in the early hours of Sunday morning, was a rematch of the 2021 showdown which had been deemed a no-contest after Muhammad was unable to continue following an accidental eye poke.

‘It sounds like all of the people booing have got a lot of tears coming out of their eyes,’ Muhammad told TNT Sports. ‘I’ve got my family in here. God first, always. This fight is for my family, my people and for Palestine.

‘I got the best team in the world, we study to the core, we get better. We’ve got the best strikers, these guys are killers. You might not know there names, but we’ve got a real champion in Chicago now.

‘I’m Belal Muhammad. I’m my own man. Now the world sees it.

‘They’ve got to respect it.’

Muhammad delivered a commanding display and controlled the majority of the fight – with hundreds of crestfallen spectators seen leaving the venue early. Indeed, the new welterweight king landed almost 100 more strikes and rode out late pressure.

Not wasting any time in his challenge, Muhammad went for the jugular as he took down his opponent multiple times in the first round. He also landed a number of heavy blows in the second round, including a huge drop to Edwards’ head.

Edwards showed flashes, having pulled off a sharp takedown at the end of the second round, but struggled to assert himself until the final 30 seconds of bout, when he sent blood pouring down Muhammad’s face and onto the canvas.

The steely show of resistance came too late, however.

‘Not surprising, my body just felt tired from round one,’ Edwards said.

‘All week we’ve been feeling tired. But congrats to Belal. We’ll get it back again.’ 

In the co-main event, meanwhile, Tom Aspinall endured his showdown against Jon Jones remained on track after a brutal KO victory over Curtis Blaydes.

Wigan man Aspinall defended his interim heavyweight title in explosive fashion by knocking out his opponent just 60 seconds in.