Leon Edwards is BEATEN by Belal Muhammad to spoil the party in Manchester at UFC 304... but Tom Aspinall destroy Curtis Blaydes with incredible first-round knockout

Leon Edwards is BEATEN by Belal Muhammad to spoil the party in Manchester at UFC 304… but Tom Aspinall destroy Curtis Blaydes with incredible first-round knockout | HO

Those fans filing out of Co-op Live Arena in Manchester midway through the final round of Leon Edwards‘ UFC 304 headliner against Belal Muhammad probably had the right idea.

They knew ‘Rocky’ needed a miracle to keep his belt, to get the suffocating challenger off his back and deliver the kind of jaw-dropping heroics he’d pulled out the bag once before to win the belt in the first place.

The miracle didn’t arrive this time. Muhammad made it 11 successive victories and the ‘Rocky’ reign came to a deflating end.

Edwards vowed to be back by the end of the year, eager to right these wrongs and the ignominy of losing on home turf, though it won’t be an immediate rematch.

Dana White confirmed as much, while also offering his blunt verdict that this main event was ‘not a barnburner’.

Belal Muhammad was overcome with emotion when Dana White wrapped the belt on him

‘Rocky’ was well beaten to spoil the party in Manchester in the headline event

Edwards spent plenty of the fight on his back with Muhammad attempting to choke him

In the opening round, there was promise. Edwards was taken down a couple of times but only briefly and looked the more dangerous striker.

In the second, the general pattern for the fight was set. Muhammad marched forward, looking superhuman as he chucked Edwards on the ground multiple times, bringing him down with a thud and spending much of the round on top, threatening to take the back. Eventually ‘Rocky’ slipped out but the round belonged to the challenger.

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The script flipped in the third when Edwards was taken down early, in the same way as before, with Muhammad pressuring and lunging in to lock his hands.

This time the champ reversed position and took his opponent down, spending the entirety of the third searching for a rear-naked choke which was well defended but there was no doubt who claimed the round.

The fourth was a mirror image of the second and Edwards was unable to break the flow and structure Muhammad had set.

When ‘Rocky’ tried to command the centre of the octagon, Muhammad forced him back and made him vulnerable to takedowns on the fence.

The Brit is famed for his fighting intellect but had no answers in this examination.

In the fifth, Muhammad rubberstamped it to leave the result beyond doubt, despite a late flurry on the ground from the champion, who cut the American with a heavy elbow.

Muhammad impressed with his striking and cause problems for Edwards in every round

Tom Aspinall defended his interim heavyweight title in fine style, knocking out Curtis Blaydes

Blaydes absorbed massive punishment and the referee stepped in to stop it

Aspinall landed and then followed up, ending the fight in the first round

The cards read 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 and Rocky tasted defeat for the first time in a decade.

In the co-main event, Tom Aspinall delivered one of the moments of the night, knocking out Curtis Blaydes in stunning style.

Having battered Sergei Pavlovich to win the interim heavyweight title, he defended it by sending the American to the mat with a huge right hand before pouncing and forcing the referee to stop further punishment.

The prospective fight with Jon Jones is now gathering even more momentum and Aspinall’s message to the American – who is fighting Stipe Miocic in November – was simple: ‘Hello Jon. I have nothing against you personally, but I just think I’m better than you.

‘If you think you’re the best heavyweight in the world, let’s settle it, simple as that.’