- The judges scored the contest 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in favor of Muhammad.
- Edwards suffered a surprising defeat in his third defense of the welterweight belt.
- Muhammad extended his winning streak to ten fights after an imposing display
Fans leaving the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester midway through the final round of Leon Edwards’ UFC 304 headliner against Belal Muhammad probably had the right idea.
They knew ‘Rocky’ needed a miracle to retain his belt, to shake off the stifling challenger and deliver the kind of jaw-dropping heroics he’d pulled out of the bag once before to win the belt in the first place.
This time, the miracle did not come. Muhammad achieved his eleventh consecutive victory and the reign of ‘Rocky’ came to a disappointing end.
Edwards has vowed to return at the end of the year, eager to right these wrongs and the ignominy of losing at home, though it will not be an immediate rematch.
Dana White confirmed this and also offered his blunt verdict that this main event “was not a huge success.”
Belal Muhammad got very emotional when Dana White put the belt on him.
‘Rocky’ took a party-ruining beating in Manchester at the main event
Edwards spent much of the fight on his back with Muhammad attempting to choke him.
In the first round, there was promise. Edwards was knocked down a couple of times, but only briefly, and looked the more dangerous attacker.
In the second round, the general pattern of the fight was set. Muhammad came forward, looking superhuman as he threw Edwards to the ground several times, dropping him with a thud and spending much of the round on top of him, threatening to take his back. Eventually, “Rocky” slipped away, but the round belonged to the challenger.
The script changed in the third when Edwards was taken down early, in the same manner as before, with Muhammad pressing and lunging to block his hands.
This time, the champion reversed position and took his opponent down, spending the entire third looking for a rear-naked choke that was well defended, but there was no doubt about who won the round.
The fourth was a mirror image of the second and Edwards was unable to break the flow and structure that Muhammad had established.
When ‘Rocky’ tried to control the center of the octagon, Muhammad forced him back and made him vulnerable to takedowns on the fence.
The Briton is renowned for his combative intellect, but he had no answers in this exam.
In the fifth, Muhammad sealed the win and put the result beyond doubt, despite a late flurry on the ground from the champion, who cut the American with a strong elbow.
Muhammad impressed with his punches and caused problems for Edwards in every round.
Tom Aspinall defended his interim heavyweight title in fine style, knocking out Curtis Blaydes
Blaydes received massive punishment and the referee stepped in to stop it.
Aspinall landed and then followed up, finishing the fight in the first round.
The scorecards read 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 and Rocky tasted defeat for the first time in a decade.
In the co-main event, Tom Aspinall delivered one of the moments of the night, knocking out Curtis Blaydes in stunning style.
Having already battered Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim heavyweight title, he defended it by sending the American to the canvas with a big right hand before pouncing and forcing the referee to stop further punishment.
The potential fight with Jon Jones is gathering momentum and Aspinall’s message to the American, who will fight Stipe Miocic in November, was simple: “Hi Jon. I’ve got nothing against you personally, but I think I’m better than you.
“If you think you’re the best heavyweight in the world, let’s settle it, simple as that.”