UFC 304 results, highlights: Belal Muhammad upsets Leon Edwards to claim welterweight title

Muhammad dominated Edwards with his superior grappling ability to take the win on the scorecards

The UFC has a new welterweight champion after Belal Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards by unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 304. Muhammad brought a relentless pressure that was simply too much for Edwards to handle from the opening bell, overwhelming the champion to take the belt.

Muhammad immediately set the template for the fight, coming out in the opening seconds of the fight and immediately getting in Edwards' face and forcing him onto the back foot. As Edwards' back met the cage, Muhammad shifted from busy hands to a powerful double-leg takedown.

Edwards, as he was able to do throughout the fight, was able to survive on the ground and escape back to his feet, where he would find temporary success before being taken right back down to the canvas.

That pattern would repeat over and over throughout the fight, with Edwards' usually sturdy takedown defense being cracked time and again by Muhammad's relentless pressure, as well as Edwards' own inability to break Muhammad's grip and find space to strike.

Edwards' best round came in Round 3, when he was the one to get the takedown and take back control. While Edwards fought to find a rear-naked choke, Muhammad defended and survived the round, going right back to his relentless gameplan until the final bell.

Muhammad should also be given credit for effective striking that, while not always technically perfect, kept Edwards from ever settling when the two weren't in a clinch or tangled on the ground.

After the conclusion of five rounds, the result was clear as Muhammad took the fight on scores of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 to become the new UFC welterweight champion.

Muhammad battled for years to get the title shot he felt he deserved and is now riding a 10-fight winning streak. It doesn't seem likely that Edwards will be given an immediate rematch as happens with many title changes, which could open the door for Shavkat Rakhmonov, the UFC's No. 3 ranked welterweight entering the night, behind former champion Kamaru Usman and Muhammad.

Rakhmonov is 18-0 in his career, with every fight ending by submission or knockout. That includes all six of his fights in the UFC Octagon.

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 the entire way on Saturday bringing you all the results and highlights from the UFC 304 below.

UFC 304 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)

[Jul 28, 2024 at 1:09 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Official result: Belal Muhammad def. Leon Edwards via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)

[Jul 28, 2024 at 1:07 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad -- Round 5: Edwards entered the round knowing he almost certainly needed a finish or he was going to lose on the scorecards. Edwards defended a takedown and ate two punches for his trouble. Muhammad shot in again and again grabbed a body lock. Edwards grabbed the cage to stop a takedown but Muhammad climbed onto his back anyway. Muhammad just kept the position, throwing punches and burning down the clock on Edwards' championship reign. Edwards spun out and ended up on top where he landed a huge elbow that split Muhammad open. A few more big elbows to end the fight. The damage may have edged the round to Edwards, but also it might have been too late. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Muhammad (49-46)

[Jul 28, 2024 at 1:01 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad -- Round 4: The same start to the round as the others, with Muhammad charging forward. Edwards just missed with a head kick and then a heavy left hand that landed well. Muhammad landed a good jab as he continued just walking forward and throwing his hands. Muhammad shot for the takedown again and got Edwards down to a knee. Muhammad got to Edwards' back and threw some punches to loosen Edwards up. Muhammad locked in a body triangle and kept dropping punches. Edwards eventually ended up on top with 30 seconds remaining in the round but too little, too late on that round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Muhammad (39-37)

[Jul 28, 2024 at 12:54 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad -- Round 3: Edwards tried to get his kicks going a bit early in the round as Muhammad continued to pressure and walk forward before another takedown. Edwards escaped quickly and took the back. Edwards got the takedown, taking the back in the process. Edwards had a body triangle locked in as he tried to work toward a rear-naked choke. Edwards continued trying to find his way to a choke but Muhammad defended well as Edwards mixed in a few punches as well. This was a much needed bounce-back round for Edwards, even if the finish didn't come. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Edwards (29-28 Muhammad)

[Jul 28, 2024 at 12:48 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad -- Round 2: A hard Edwards body kick landed but Muhammad landed his own right hand. Muhammad's pressure has been very effective early in the fight. Another shot from Muhammad was stuffed by Edwards initially but Muhammad wouldn't stop driving for it and briefly had Edwards down again. Another big takedown by Muhammad came after they stood again, this one partially driving Edwards' head into the canvas. Edwards again managed to stand but Muhammad just kept tight on the body lock and scored another takedown. Edwards kept finding ways back to his feet but not breaking the body lock of Muhammad. Out of nowhere, Edwards scored his own takedown with roughly 35 seconds remaining in the round. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Muhammad (20-18)

[Jul 28, 2024 at 12:42 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad -- Round 1: Muhammad came out trying to push Edwards backward. Muhammad immediately shot for a takedown and got a big double-leg with relative ease. Muhammad threw some short punches to the head before Edwards exploded back to his feet and turned the clinch around on Muhammad against the cage. Edwards felt around for a takedown of his own before throwing knees to the legs. Edwards then landed an elbow as he broke the clinch. Edwards landed a kick and then a hard knee to the body. Edwards landed a hard left uppercut and a heavy body kick. Muhammad answered with a jab. Muhammad landed a left hook and a good uppercut before another takedown as Edwards backed into the cage. Edwards seemed as though he'd taken the round over after the early Muhammad takedown but that late flurry and second takedown plus a bit of ground and pound for Muhammad likely grabbed it back. Unofficial scorecard: 10-9 Muhammad

[Jul 28, 2024 at 12:22 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

The main event is up next! It's welterweight champion Leon Edwards vs. top contender Belal Muhammad. These two met previously, with Edwards dominating the opening round before an accidental eye poke from Edwards ended things in a no contest in the second round.

[Jul 28, 2024 at 12:11 am ET · Brent Brookhouse]

Tom Aspinall vs. Curtis Blaydes -- Round 1: Blaydes landed a good left hook after a right hand by Aspinall in the opening seconds. Blades connected with a heavy jab and Aspinall responded with another jab and a big right hand that put Blaydes down. Aspinall followed him to the ground and fired punches until the referee jumped in to stop the fight. Official result: Tom Aspinall def. Curtis Blaydes via TKO, Round 1 to retain the UFC interim heavyweight championship.

[Jul 27, 2024 at 11:57 pm ET · Brent Brookhouse]

We now move along to the first of two championship bouts atop the UFC 304 card. It's Tom Aspinall defending his interim heavyweight championship against Curtis Blaydes. The two met in 2022 with Blaydes winning by TKO when Aspinall suffered a knee injury just 15 seconds into the fight. Aspinall is -395 coming in.