UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Tito Wordsmith
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
Introduction
UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad took place on Saturday, July 27, 2024 at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester, England. It was the most significant night in British MMA history: Belal Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards via unanimous decision to win the welterweight title on English soil, and Tom Aspinall knocked out Curtis Blaydes in 63 seconds to retain the interim heavyweight title in front of his hometown crowd. The card produced an estimated 700,000 pay-per-view buys.
Muhammad had earned the title shot through his TKO of Vicente Luque at UFC 286 and his UD win over Sean Brady. Edwards entered as a -200 favourite on home soil; Muhammad won five rounds on wrestling pressure and volume. Tom Aspinall's 63-second KO of Curtis Blaydes — in front of a Manchester crowd that had waited years for a British heavyweight champion — was the night's most dramatic moment.
Contents
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, July 27, 2024
📍 Venue: Co-op Live, Manchester, England
👥 Attendance: 23,500 (full capacity)
💰 Gate: $8.9 million (highest UK UFC gate ever)
📺 PPV Buys: ~700,000
🏆 Main Event: Leon Edwards (c) vs. Belal Muhammad — UFC Welterweight Championship (170 lbs)
✅ Result: Muhammad def. Edwards via Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
🥇 Co-Main: Tom Aspinall (c) def. Curtis Blaydes via KO (punches) — R1, 1:03 — Interim Heavyweight Title
The Build-Up
Leon Edwards had defended the welterweight title twice (Usman 3 at UFC 286, Covington at UFC 296). He was fighting in Manchester — the closest thing to a home crowd he would ever have in the UFC, given his Birmingham roots. Edwards was a -200 favourite. Muhammad was +160. The fight was framed as the definitive test of whether Edwards's title reign could outlast the most technically complete grappler in the welterweight division.
Tom Aspinall was defending the interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes at the Co-op Live. Aspinall was from Salford, Greater Manchester — the fight was in front of his hometown crowd. Blaydes was 18-4 and had been the most active top-five heavyweight of the last three years. The fight was the most-anticipated interim heavyweight title defense in divisional history — the Jones injury having prevented any unification.
Main Event: Edwards vs. Muhammad
A comprehensive five-round welterweight championship fight that Muhammad controlled from start to finish. He used his wrestling pressure — scoring takedowns in rounds one, two, three, and five — and his volume striking to out-work Edwards consistently. The Manchester crowd drove the champion forward; Edwards's takedown defense, usually elite, struggled against Muhammad's sustained pressure.
Final scorecards: 49-46, 49-46, 49-46. A unanimous decision that reflected four rounds clearly for Muhammad. Edwards won round three on striking volume; Muhammad's wrestling dominated rounds one, two, four, and five. Belal Muhammad was the UFC welterweight champion. The Co-op Live was stunned — the Manchester crowd had backed Edwards from the opening minute.
Muhammad went on to defend against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in December 2024 (majority draw — Muhammad retained). His championship reign extends into mid-2025.
Co-Main Event: Aspinall vs. Blaydes
One minute and three seconds. Tom Aspinall pressed forward immediately from the opening bell, landed a clean right hand at 0:45 that wobbled Blaydes, pressed with follow-up combinations, and finished with ground strikes at 1:03. The Co-op Live erupted. Aspinall had defended the interim heavyweight title in front of his hometown crowd with a performance that matched his UFC 295 20-second KO of Pavlovich for brevity and precision.
The Aspinall-Jones unification fight remained the most commercially anticipated unbooked UFC fight of the mid-2020s. Jones's ACL tear — sustained after his UFC 309 Miocic defense in November 2024 — has prevented any unification through mid-2025.
Full Results
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Belal Muhammad def. Leon Edwards (c) — Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) — Welterweight Title
Tom Aspinall (c) def. Curtis Blaydes — KO (punches) — R1, 1:03 — Interim Heavyweight Title
Bobby Green def. Paddy Pimblett — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Lightweight
Molly McCann def. Julija Stoliarenko — Unanimous Decision (30-27 ×3) — Women's Strawweight
Muhammad Ali Heibati def. Nathaniel Wood — TKO (punches) — R3, 0:49 — Bantamweight
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Danny Roberts def. Preston Parsons — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Welterweight
Oban Elliott def. Nicolas Dalby — Unanimous Decision (30-27 ×3) — Welterweight
Gunnar Nelson def. Themba Gorimbo — Submission (rear-naked choke) — R2, 3:55 — Welterweight
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Performance of the Night: Tom Aspinall — $50,000 for the 63-second KO of Curtis Blaydes in his hometown of Greater Manchester.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Belal Muhammad — $50,000 for the dominant unanimous-decision win over Leon Edwards to win the welterweight title.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Gunnar Nelson — $50,000 for the second-round rear-naked choke submission of Themba Gorimbo on home-adjacent soil in Manchester.
Records & Milestones
• UFC 304 — the most-attended UK UFC card in history at 23,500.
• Two British/UK champions on the same card for the first time in UFC history (Muhammad won the welterweight title; Aspinall retained the interim heavyweight title).
• Leon Edwards's 23-month welterweight championship reign ended — three title defenses (Usman 3, Covington, Muhammad) across one of the most complete welterweight title runs of the modern era.
• Bobby Green def. Paddy Pimblett — one of the most-anticipated and most-discussed lightweight contender fights of 2024.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 304 is remembered as the greatest night in British MMA history. Two UK fighters — Belal Muhammad (American-Palestinian, but culturally embraced by the UK MMA community) and Tom Aspinall (Salford-born) — won/defended championships on the same card at a 23,500-capacity Manchester arena. Aspinall's hometown KO of Blaydes was the most emotionally resonant British UFC moment since Michael Bisping's UFC 199 win.
For Belal Muhammad, the title win launched a reign that has extended through the Rakhmonov majority draw at UFC 310 (Muhammad retained) into 2025. For Leon Edwards, the loss closed a championship reign that had defined the post-Usman welterweight era. He has not competed again since UFC 304 through mid-2025. For Tom Aspinall, the Blaydes KO added to his series of sub-two-minute UFC title finishes while the Jones unification fight remained elusive due to Jones's ACL injury.
FAQ
How did Muhammad neutralise Edwards's striking?
Wrestling pressure and pace. Muhammad scored four takedowns across the five rounds — each time disrupting Edwards's ability to establish his preferred jab-heavy range. In the standing exchanges, Muhammad threw combinations at a pace that forced Edwards to be reactive rather than proactive. Edwards's volume was lower than in his Usman or Covington fights; Muhammad's relentless forward pressure was the decisive tactical variable.
Is Aspinall the best heavyweight never to hold the undisputed title?
By technical performance, he is the most complete heavyweight of the mid-2020s. His two-fight interim title reign — Pavlovich in 20 seconds, Blaydes in 63 seconds — is the most dominant interim heavyweight championship run in UFC history. The Jones injury preventing unification is the defining context; without it, Aspinall may have already held the undisputed title.
How does UFC 304 compare to UFC 303?
UFC 304 drew approximately 700,000 PPV buys versus UFC 303 (650,000) four weeks earlier — a 50,000-buy gain driven by the UK market enthusiasm and the double-championship narrative. The $8.9 million gate was the highest UK UFC gate in history.
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