UFC 304 in Manchester wrapped up this weekend and we saw a new UFC welterweight champion in Belal ‘Remember The Name’ Muhammad. Belal Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards via unanimous decision in a convincing performance which shocked the Manchester crowd and the MMA community. Tom Aspinall also defeated Curtis Blaydes to defend his UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship via first round KO and Paddy Pimblett submitted King Green in the first round to get the biggest win of his career. We will get into all that and more that occured at UFC 304.

Belal Muhammad defeats Leon Edwards via Unanimous Decision to win UFC Welterweight Championship.

Belal Muhammad defeats Leon Edwards in Manchester to become the UFC Welterweight Champion and achieved his dream. Belal shocked the Manchester crowd who were rooting for the British champion but Belal Muhammad stuck by his word and made the fight easy. The fight started off with Belal getting a powerful takedown early in the first round which really stunned the crowd as Leon had shown great takedown defence against Kamaru Usman in the third fight and against Colby Covington in their recent clash but the Khabib style approach from Belal was something he had not seen before. The wrestling was not only the main issue for Leon as Belal showed his hands and had caused Leon a problem on the feet showing the ‘Canelo’ hands that his coach had been saying Belal has throughout the fight camp. Belal showed real improvement in his last few fights on the feet which resulted in him being able to mix in the wrestling and the striking to cause the ultimate threat to Leon. Belal was very comfortable in this fight and no one in the Co Op Live arena was shocked to hear Bruce Buffer say And New when he read out the result.

This result changes the landscape of the welterweight division as many people thought the reign of Leon Edwards was going to continue however the Bully B era has now arrived. Belal has stated in the post fight press conference that he wants to fight the new generation of welterweights and has said that he wants his next fight to be against the rising contender Shavkat Rakhmonov. Regarding Leon Edwards, he stated that he wants to fight again by the end of the year which could be in the timeline for one Ian Garry who Leon has had issues with in the past. Leon Edwards vs Ian Garry in December on the Conor McGregor card is a HUGE fight for both as Ian can get a title shot from that bout and Leon could get back to winning ways. For now, we will now enter the Bully B era of the welterweight division.

Tom Aspinall defeats Curtis Blaydes via first round knockout to retain his Interim Heavyweight Championship

Manchester was not fully disappointed though Tom Aspinall showed out once again to retain his Interim Heavyweight Championship against Curtis Blaydes. Tom Aspinall won via first round knockout where he put on a show for the sleep deprived crowd in Manchester. The fight started and Blaydes landed a one two combo which Aspinall ate and he returned it with a jab and a cross but the jab was all he needed to rock Curtis Blaydes. Blaydes stumbled backwards and Aspinall pounced and landed heavy ground and pound before Marc Goddard called a stop to the contest.

In the post fight interview, Tom Aspinall called for the fight the entire UFC fanbase has been asking for and that is Tom Aspinall vs Jon Jones for the Undisputed UFC Heavyweight championship. At the moment, Jones is slated to face Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in Madison Square Garden for the belt but UFC president Dana White has stated that the winner of that fight will fight Aspinall next which could be a career night for the Manchester native Aspinall who could achieve his dream and become the undisputed UFC Heavyweight champion.

Paddy Pimblett defeats King Green via first round submission

Paddy Pimblett shook up the Co Op Live and set it into a frenzy after he defeated King Green in the first round via a triangle choke which lifted the crowd up from a rather lackluster prelims and first two fights of the main card. The fight started and Paddy was using his range to control how the fight was being dictated however, Green then shot for a takedown which Paddy caught him in a gulliotine which he transitioned into a triangle and ended up putting Green to sleep. Paddy’s win at 4am lifted and set the Manchester crowd into chaos as the boy did it again and continues winning ways and now has the second longest active win streak in the lightweight division just behind the champion Islam Makhachev.

Paddy Pimblett is now a ranked fighter, coming in at rank 15 and has now called out Renato Moicano who he was rumoured to face this card at UFC 304 but the fight never came to fruition. Renato is booked to face Benoit St Denis at UFC Paris however the Paddy fight at the end of the year is a massive fight for both regardless if Moicano wins or loses that fight at UFC Paris.

Overall, UFC 304 was not the greatest PPV ever however, it had its moments and we now have a new UFC Welterweight champion in Belal ‘Remember The Name’ Muhammad. Let us know in the comments what you thought of UFC 304 and who would you like to face Belal next for the welterweight strap.