Report: UFC 304 – Edwards vs Muhammad

It's not unusual for a Sunday morning in Manchester to be a dreary affair, however, the gloominess that permeated its citizenry heading into the UFC 304 title bouts wasn't from clouds or drizzle, but rather the underwhelming fights that led to the headliners.

They had little help though. The UFC scheduling the main card to take place entirely in the AM was as egregious a decision they've made in a while and I'm including Saudi Arabia. So as those in attendance began to feel the effects of fatigue in the early hours of the morning, they needed something (or somebody) to take them up.

First up was Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes in an Interim Heavyweight Title fight that was over as soon as it started. Not quite Masvidal/Askren, but not far off.

It took just one minute of their rematch for the hometown hero, Aspinall, to clock Blaydes and sit him down. Blaydes covered up, but the strikes kept coming from Aspinall who pummeled Curtis Blaydes until referee Marc Goddard stepped in.

It was a victory similar to Aspinall's win over Sergei Pavlovich, save the direction of his downed opponent. Afterward, Aspinall made a respectful call-out of Jon Jones, claiming that it was nothing personal, he was just better. But I can't think of anything more personal to Jones than someone claiming to be better than him in the octagon.

Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad had a tough act to follow. Anybody who has seen the two knows they're not exactly the most combustible fighters or personalities. But Brit Edwards was on home turf and proud Palestinian Muhammad walked out with the flag of his heritage as a Hesymbol of unity during their current occupation and war with Israel.

Muhammad shocked Edwards (and everyone else) when he began outstriking Edwards on his feet. Edwards got in bigger shots, but the volume was clearly in Muhammad's favor as he walked Edwards down, cutting off the cage. The strikes opened Edwards up for a takedown which Muhammad promptly got and he dominated Edwards on the floor for the rest of the round.

The second round followed the first, except more. Muhammad suffocated Edwards for the entire five minutes of round two, with Edwards showing little resistance. It was all on Leon to turn the fight around.

And that's what Edwards did in round three. What was surprising was the manner in which he did it – he took Muhammad down. And his ground control was even more impressive because Edwards was actually searching for submission victory.

As the fight went into championship rounds, it appeared all the momentum was in Edwards favor, but Muhammad flipped the script again. For the next ten minutes, Muhammad controlled the fight on the ground as he held Edwards down with no intention of letting him up (or submitting either).

It was a disappointing end to a disappointing night for the Manchester MMA fans. By the time the Welterweight fight began, it was 5:30 am and some locals were making their way for the exit as the fifth round came to a close. A late surge from Edwards was unable to change the outcome, although it did win the round for two of the judges.

What will be of Belal Muhammad as champion? He's thirty-six, so he has more of his career behind him than ahead of him. A rematch with Edwards seems unlikely. Shavkat Rakmanov is the more likely contender. Place that in a Muslim-majority country and it could be interesting. I don't think he'll walk out as champion though, but I've said that before.

Commentary: Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier, Michael Bisping. Reporting by Megan Olivi.

Main Event Referees: Mike Beltrand (Edwards vs Muhammad), Marc Goddard (Aspinall vs Blaydes).

FULL CARD RESULTS

170 – Belal Muhammad def Leon Edwards — Decision (unanimous)

265 – Tom Aspinall def Curtis Blaydes — TKO (punches)

155 – Paddy Pimblet def King Green — Submission (guillotine choke)

185 – Gregory Rodriguez def Christian Leroy Duncan – Decision (unanimous)

145 – Arnold Allen def Giga Chikadze — Decision (unanimous)

145 – Nathaniel Wood def Daniel Pineda — Decision (unanimous)

115 – Bruna Brasil def Molly McCann — Decision (unanimous)

137 – Jake Hadley def Caolán Loughran — Decision (unanimous)

125 – Muhammad Mokaev def Manel Kape — Decision (unanimous)

170 – Oban Elliott def Preston Parsons — Decision (unanimous)

205 – Modestas Bukaukus def Marcin Prachnio — Submission (arm-triangle choke)

170 – Sam Patterson def Kiefer Crosbie — Submission (arm-triangle choke)

205+ – Mick Parkin def Łukasz Brzeski — KO (punches)

115 – Shauna Bannon def Alice Ardelean — Decision (split)