UFC 304: Muhammad dethrones Edwards, Aspinall stops Blaydes in 60 seconds

Belal Muhammad produced a career-best performance to capture the undisputed UFC welterweight title at UFC 304, as he wrestled his way to victory over defending champion Leon “Rocky” Edwards in Manchester, England.

The main event fight, which took place at 5:30am local time, saw the pair face off for the 170-pound title, and Muhammad immediately pushed the pace on the champion, forcing him back against the cage and landing a big takedown, before holding there for most of the rest of the round.

It was rinse and repeat for Muhammad in the second round as he deployed his wrestling to great effect, but Edwards turned the tables in the third and spent most of the round on Muhammad’s back, searching for a rear-naked choke submission.

But any thoughts of Edwards getting back into the fight were scotched in the fourth, as Muhammad’s wrestling and control came to the fore once again. And while Edwards pushed the pace in the final frame, it wasn’t enough to prevent Muhammad from achieving his dream of becoming the undisputed UFC welterweight champion, as the judges scored the fight 48-47, 48-47, 49-46.

Aspinall stuns Blaydes in 60 seconds

In the night’s co-main event, interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall delivered another emphatic finish as he stopped longtime contender Curtis Blaydes in just 60 seconds to retain his title and potentially set up a unification clash with UFC heavyweight champ Jon Jones.

Aspinall stunned Blaydes with a big shot, then overwhelmed him with strikes on the mat to force the finish before Blaydes had any chance to recover.

Then, after his victory, Aspinall then called for a fight with Jon Jones, as he sent a message directly down the lens to the pound-for-pound GOAT himself.

Pimblett chokes out Green

In the featured main card bout, Paddy Pimblett likely catapulted himself towards the lightweight rankings with an emphatic first-round submission victory over King Green.

The bout started out on the feet, with Green looking to score with his familiar stand-up skills, while Pimblett found success with leg kicks. But the bout kicked up a gear when Green attempted to surprise Pimblett with a takedown.

But, while Green was successful in taking the Scouser to the mat, Pimblett quickly grabbed Green’s neck and attempted to lock in a guillotine choke. “The Baddy” then switched techniques and locked up a triangle choke that had Green in big trouble. Finally, he then isolated Green’s arm for a triangle armbar, and the referee checked on Green, who was already unconscious.

It was the first time Green had been submitted in the UFC, as Pimblett proved his detractors wrong with the best finish of his UFC career to date.

Rodrigues claims dominant win

Brazil’s Gregory Rodrigues made full use of his short-notice appearance as he outworked and outbattled England’s Christian Leroy Duncan over three rounds.

Rodrigues surpassed Duncan in all facets of the game, winning the striking, wrestling and grappling exchanges to earn a shutout win on all three scorecards, with the judges scoring the bout 30-27 across the board to give “Robocop” the 16th win of his career.

Allen adjusts to defeat Chikadze

In the main card opener, England’s Arnold Allen bounced back into the win column with a unanimous decision victory over Georgian striker Giga Chikadze.

Chikadze started well as he quickly established his striking range and scored well with some heavy kicks finding their mark in the opening five minutes. But Allen adjusted well and, using a high-pressure approach to walk down his man, he pushed the pace and outscored Chikadze over the second and third rounds to earn the victory with 29-28 scores across the board.

Preliminary card recap

The preliminary card saw all four fights go the distance, with Nathaniel Wood leading the way with a unanimous decision victory over a gritty Daniel Pineda in the featured prelim of the night. That win was preceded by an upset victory for Bruna Brasil, who produced a superb performance to defeat Molly McCann on the scorecards.

There was also a huge win for England’s Jake Hadley, who stepped in on one week’s notice moved up a weight and defeated Ireland’s Caolan Loughran in their bantamweight matchup.

Hadley entered the bout on a two-fight skid at flyweight and, after he missed the bantamweight limit by one pound at Friday’s official weigh-ins, “White Kong” felt that his back was against the wall. But he fought superbly to defeat Loughran by unanimous decision and potentially begin a fresh chapter in his career, as a bantamweight.

The prelims kicked off with the flyweight matchup between heated rivals Muhammad Mokaev and Manel Kape, as Mokaev claimed the unanimous decision win after a tense, tight 15-minutes.

The pair had been embroiled in multiple run-ins during fight week, and extra security had to be drafted in to prevent the fight from starting the moment Mokaev entered the Octagon. But after the action had reached its conclusion and the decision was read, the pair appeared to bury the hatchet with an embrace.

Early prelims recap

The Manchester fans were given plenty to cheer during the early prelims, with five UK and Irish-based stars claiming important victories.

The featured early prelim saw “The Welsh Gangster” Oban Elliott claim  ahard-earned unanimous decision win over Preston Parsons in a bout that showcased Elliott’s stellar takedown defence and bottomless gas tank.

There was also a big win for former Cage Warriors light heavyweight champion Modestas Bukauskas, who submitted Poland’s Marcin Prachnio with an arm-triangle choke after a wild back-and-forth clash.

Bukauskas’ arm-triangle finish followed hot on the heels of Sam Patterson’s finish by the same method, as the rising welterweight claimed a first-round finish of Ireland’s Kiefer Crosbie.

The first finish came in the second bout of the night, as English heavyweight Mick Parkin claimed his first UFC knockout with a first-round stoppage of Lukasz Brzeski.

And Ireland’s Shauna Bannon kicked off the night with a split-decision victory over short-notice opponent Alice Ardelean.

UFC 304: Official results

MAIN CARD

• Belal Muhammad def. Leon Edwards (c) via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) – for welterweight title
• Tom Aspinall (ic) def. Curtis Blaydes via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:00
• Paddy Pimblett def. King Green via technical submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 3:22
• Gregory Rodrigues def. Christian Leroy Duncan via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Arnold Allen def. Giga Chikadze via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Nathaniel Wood def. Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
• Bruna Brasil def. Molly McCann via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Jake Hadley def. Caolan Loughran via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Muhammad Mokaev def. Manel Kape via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

EARLY PRELIMS

• Oban Elliott def. Preston Parsons via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Modestas Bukauskas def. Marcin Prachnio via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 3:12
• Sam Patterson def. Kiefer Crosbie via submission (arm-triangle) – Round 1, 2:50
• Mick Parkin def. Lukasz Brzeski via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:23
• Shauna Bannon def. Alice Ardelean via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)