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Andreas Hale, ESPN
Belal Muhammad‘s nickname is “Remember the Name.”
After Saturday night’s victory, they won’t forget it.
Muhammad stunned Leon Edwards with an authoritative performance that mixed stifling grappling and much-improved striking to win the welterweight championship by unanimous decision Saturday in the main event of UFC 304 at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England.
The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46.
The fight was a rematch of their 2021 meeting that ended in a no-contest after Muhammad suffered an accidental eye poke and was unable to continue. Muhammad had to wait patiently for the rematch and made good on the opportunity when it finally arrived with a career-defining performance against the hometown hero who sought to send the fans home happy.
“We have a real champion in Chicago now,” Muhammad said after extending his unbeaten streak to 11.
The fight couldn’t have started any better for Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC), who wasted little time swooping in and taking Edwards to the canvas. However, Edwards worked his way back to his feet as the Manchester crowd erupted. Edwards went to work with his striking, drilling Muhammad with a knee to the midsection and landing a hard left uppercut. But Muhammad broke through with an uppercut and mixed in a slam for a second takedown to close the round.
It was a stark difference from their previous meeting, in which Edwards (22-4 MMA, 14-3 UFC) methodically picked Muhammad apart in the opening round before the eye poke ended the fight. This time around, it was Muhammad picking apart Edwards. Muhammad also took his grappling to another level, courtesy of having former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in his camp to help him prepare for the fight.
The Palestinian American started quickly in the second round, matching Edwards in hand speed and eventually taking him down. Edwards managed to stand up, but Muhammad dumped the champion headfirst on the canvas and quickly took his back. Desperately needing a shift in momentum, Edwards got to his feet and took Muhammad down at the end of the round.
In the third round, Edwards turned the tables on the grappler by securing a takedown and taking Muhammad’s back. The champion tried to lock in a rear-naked choke as Muhammad desperately fought off the attempts for the duration of the round. But that was the only noteworthy moment that Edwards could find in a fight that was solidly in Muhammad’s grasp.
Edwards opened the fourth round stinging Muhammad with a left hook. But Muhammad held his own, landing a combination that got Edwards’ attention before getting another takedown and flipping the script from the previous round. Edwards reversed position with 25 seconds left in the round, but it wasn’t enough to pull the fight even.
With coach Dave Lovell passionately urging him to finish the fight, Edwards sought a fight-ending sequence to retain his title. But Muhammad kept up the pressure and swarmed in for yet another takedown, his ninth of the fight, and again controlled him for nearly the entire round. With time running out, Edwards desperately reversed position and blasted Muhammad with an elbow that opened a gaping cut. It was too little, too late. A new champion was to be crowned in hostile territory.
The loss ended Edwards’ 13-fight unbeaten streak, the first blemish on his record in over eight years.
“He said I’m no Khabib [Nurmagomedov] or Georges St-Pierre. I’m Belal Muhammad,” Muhammad said. “I’m my own man. Now the world knows it and sees it, now they have to respect it. I’m a world champion.”