In the main event of UFC 304, Belal Muhammad put on a memorable performance as he successfully defeated Leon Edwards to become the new welterweight champion on Saturday in Manchester, England. Muhammad, winner of 11 straight, avenged his last fight with Edwards, which was ruled a no contest due to an accidental eye poke.
In the co-main event, Tom Aspinall defended his interim heavyweight belt against Curtis Blaydes with a first-round TKO victory. Aspinall needed just one minute to end the rematch against Blaydes, as the interim champ stunned his opponent, knocking him down. After some precise ground-and-pound, the referee stopped the contest.
UFC 304 fight card results
Welterweight championship: Belal Muhammad def. Leon Edwards (c)
Heavyweight interim championship: Tom Aspinall (ic) def. Curtis Blaydes def.
Lightweight: Paddy Pimblett def. King Green
Middleweight: Gregory Rodrigues def. Christian Leroy Duncan
Featherweight: Arnold Allen def. Giga Chikadze
Featherweight: Nathaniel Wood def. Daniel Pineda
Strawweight: Bruna Brasil def. Molly McCann
Men's bantamweight: Jake Hadley def. Caolán Loughran
Men's flyweight: Muhammad Mokaev def. Manel Kape
Welterweight: Oban Elliott def. Preston Parsons
Light heavyweight: Modestas Bukauskas def. Marcin Prachnio
Welterweight: Sam Patterson def. Kiefer Crosbie
Heavyweight: Mick Parkin def. Lukasz Brzeski
Strawweight: Shauna Bannon def. Alice Ardelean
(c) = defending champion | (ic) = defending interim champion
Aspinall leaves no doubt in trouncing of Blaydes
Officially, Tom Aspinall is the UFC's interim heavyweight champion. Unofficially, he's probably the best heavyweight in the world -- and maybe the division's hardest hitter.
Aspinall (15-3) defended his interim championship in emphatic fashion at UFC 304 on Saturday, as he knocked out Curtis Blaydes (18-5) with a left hand and punches on the ground just one minute into their heavyweight title fight. The bout served as the co-main event, inside Co-Op Arena in Manchester.
Immediately after the win, Aspinall called out the undisputed champion Jon Jones, who is widely considered the greatest fighter of all time and is expected to face Stipe Miocic later this year.
Okamoto: Aspinall defends interim title, KOs Blaydes at UFC 304
Edwards and Aspinall lead English MMA's golden generation
Two decades after England's first UFC event, the country finds itself flush with two champions in welterweight king Leon Edwards and interim heavyweight titleholder Tom Aspinall -- both of whom will fight this Saturday at UFC 304 in Manchester (10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV). Plus, England's future is bright with the next wave of prospects poised to become stars, such as Paddy Pimblett and Dakota Ditcheva, among others. Through it all, their inspirations and opportunities can be drawn back to an Englishman pulling off an upset while dealing with his father's failing health.
Now, the region is arguably one of the world's strongest developers of MMA talent.
Hale and Okamoto: Inside the making of English MMA's golden generation
Can Edwards and Aspinall deliver at home?
With two title fights, a raucous crowd and big stakes up and down a 14-fight card, UFC 304 looks to be full of drama in Manchester, England. (10 p.m. ET on ESPN PPV)
Fellow Englishmen Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall look to defend their titles -- welterweight and interim heavyweight, respectively -- against deserving contenders Belal Muhammad and Curtis Blaydes. Both bouts will serve as rematches, although both previous fights revealed much of anything regarding the outcome of Saturday's festivities.
Pair that with 13 fighters representing the United Kingdom inside the Co-op Live arena, and you've got a potentially electrifying experience on tap for fight fans. But questions remain: Can the British stars shine bright on the biggest stage? How will the odd timing -- 3 a.m. main card start -- impact the fighters? What will the fallout of the big fights mean for other top stars of the sport?
Ranking the storylines of UFC 304
Betting experts and coaches deep dive on UFC 304
Andreas Hale spoke to ESPN analyst and former UFC welterweight Alan Jouban to get his perspective on the UFC main event. ESPN betting expert Ian Parker adds insights and analysis on the main event and other intriguing bets he likes on the card.
Hale and Parker: Expert picks and best bets for UFC 304
Our data model takes on UFC 304 title fights
What do the analytics say about upcoming championship fights like the two on the marquee at UFC 304? Should a grappler such as Belal Muhammad be considered a favorite against a striker such as Leon Edwards? Does a rematch hurt or help a current champion Tom Aspinall?
Using predictive models agnostic of betting lines, we examined how each champion's matchup appears from a favorability view. Essentially, is this a good matchup for the champion or the challenger? The inputs consider each fighter's performance metrics inside the Octagon and select factors about the fighter outside the cage. The higher the score, the more favorable the matchup for the incumbent champ.
These scores don't indicate how to bet the fight. They assess relative favorability, running from the riskiest to the best matchup.
Kuhn and Parker: UFC title matchup projections
