The UFC’s return to England proved a success with one champion retaining his crown and the other being unseated at the top
• 2 min read
UFC 304 is in the books. The promotion’s latest jaunt across the pond to England featured a pair of titles at stake along with a host of rising U.K. stars. The main event saw the biggest upset of the night when Belal Muhammad take down welterweight champion Leon Edwards to claim the title. The win scored a spot of revenge for Muhammad, who first met Edwards in 2021 on short notice and suffered a nasty eye poke early in the fight. The accidental foul was bad enough that Muhammad told officials he could not see and the fight was deemed a no contest.
On Saturday, Muhammad executed a perfect gameplan of outgrappling the bigger man over five rounds and taking control from the jump. Muhammad is now unbeaten in his last 11 appearances in the Octagon and has a host of contenders hoping to get their shot.
Elsewhere on the card, Tom Aspinall made quick work of Curtis Blaydes to retain his interim heavyweight crown. Aspinall, who suffered a knee injury the first time the two met, bounced back with a vengeance and stopped Blaydes in one minute. Aspinall, who has held the interim title for nine months now, continued to call for his unification fight with Jon Jones, who is expected to face Stipe Miocic later this year. Plus, Paddy Pimblett jolted his stock to life once again with a nasty submission of King Green at lightweight. “The Baddy” secured an arm triangle choke that appeared to have Green unconscious, but with the referee unable to determine, Pimblett flipped the hold to include an armbar and nearly snapped it before the referee finally called it off.
CBS Sports was with you throughout fight week with the latest news, in-depth features and betting advice to consider. Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you at UFC 305 in Australia.
UFC 304 fight card, results
- Belal Muhammad def. Leon Edwards (c) via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
- Tom Aspinall (ic) def. Curtis Blaydes via first-round knockout (punch)
- Paddy Pimblett def. King Green via first-round technical submission (triangle choke)
- 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)
- 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)
- Caolan Loughran def. Jake Hadley via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Muhammad Mokaev def. Manel Kape via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Oban Elliott def. Preston Parsons via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Modestas Bukauskas def. Marcin Prachnio via third-round submission (arm-triangle choke)
- Sam Patterson def. Kiefer Crosbie via first-round submission (arm-triangle choke)
- Mick Parkin def. Lukasz Brzeski via first-round knockout (punch)
- Shauna Bannon def. Alice Ardelean via split decision (29-28, 30-27, 28-29)
UFC 304 countdown
- Staff predictions and expert picks for the main card
- Brookhouse: Best bets to consider on the main card
- Mahjouri: Bisping, ‘MVP’ talk British MMA’s long road ahead
- Mahjouri: Current, former champs weigh in on Aspinall’s unique situation
- Mahjouri: Undercard fights to watch this weekend
- Campbell: Biggest storylines to follow in Manchester
