Looking to make a third defense of his welterweight title, England’s Leon Edwards topped the marquee at UFC 304 on Saturday, facing Belal Muhammad in a rematch three years in the making.
The Manchester card had Edwards as the clear favorite with fans, many of whom could be forgiven for struggling to make it to the end of the night, given the main event fighters made the walk at 5:30AM local time.
Muhammad landed the first takedown of the fight inside 30 seconds, scooping up Edwards off a double-leg and planting him on his back. Muhammad landed some short punches to the temple before Edwards scrambled out, turned Belal around and put him on the fence.
Edwards then dropped for a takedown of his own, though he bailed on it, the pair moving back to center shortly thereafter. Muhammad would look to land his left, but the champ landed a knee. A bit of a back-and-forth followed, with Belal coming on strong in the final minute. He punched his way in, hoisted up the champ and landed another thunderous takedown with about 30 seconds on the clock.
A strong opening round for the challenger, without question. Round two saw Muhammad continue to bring the fight to the champ, throwing hands to close the distance, then changing levels for a takedown. This time, Edwards fought off the attempt, though Muhammad stayed on him, eventually landing a mat return (and practically spiking Edwards), then looking to climb the back of the champ.
Most of the round from there would have Edwards on the defensive, much to the annoyance of the Manchester crowd, who were soon voicing their disapproval at the lack of action. In the final minute, Edwards would turn the tables, coming up and scoring his own takedown, though so late in the frame, it wasn’t about the change much.
Round three saw Muhammad land another early takedown, though Edwards was back up with relative ease, reversing and taking the back care of a body lock. He dragged Muhammad down and got both hooks in, giving himself over three and a half minutes to hunt for a choke. He wouldn’t find it, but spending all that time in the driver’s seat at least won him the round.
Entering the championship rounds, anything but a 29-28 score for Muhammad after three stanzas would have been bizarre. That still made it anybody’s fight, and Edwards had proven, against Kamaru Usman, that he could finish a fight late. The fourth frame opened up with Muhammad jabbing his way forward; Edwards answered with a kick up high. The next exchange saw Edwards clip Muhammad with a punch, but he was unable to follow up, with Muhammad instead landing a counter.
A minute in, and it was Muhammad landing a 1-2 and finding his own success. The level change followed, and Belal transitioned to the back, climbing it. As Edwards did in the third, Muhammad did in the fourth, controlling from the back for the remainder of the frame.
Edwards got the required pep talk from his corner ahead of round five, and likely needed a finish. The champ stuffed an early takedown attempt, but Belal went on the attack again, backing Edwards up to the fence. Muhammad grabbed a body lock, and Edwards grabbed the fence to defend, drawing a warning from the ref. In a fight he was losing, it felt almost as if the ref couldn’t be bothered, especially on a night that fence grabs had barely been called.
Muhammad, meanwhile, completed the takedown and got a body triangle in place. In the final minute, Edwards reversed, landing an elbow that busted Muhammad open! Belal was bloodied, but time was winding down, leaving it in the hands of the judges. No surprises there. Belal Muhammad is your new UFC welterweight champion.
Now waiting in the wings are the likes of Shavkat Rakhmonov and perhaps Ian Garry, with welterweight arguably wide open.
Official Result: Belal Muhammad def. Leon Edwards by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
