Tom Aspinall knocks out Curtis Blaydes, but Leon Edwards loses title to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304

Tom Aspinall retained his interim heavyweight title with a quick knockout of Curtis Blaydes on Saturday before Leon Edwards lost his welterweight belt to Belal Muhammad in the main event of UFC 304.

Wigan’s Aspinall needed just a minute to bring down Blaydes with a one-two, knock the American to the canvas and force the end.

With that, Aspinall avenged a 2022 defeat to Blaydes, a defeat that occurred when the Briton suffered a knee injury just 15 seconds into the fight in London.

In Manchester, Aspinall managed to prove his superiority over Blaydes, 33, by retaining the interim belt he won in November with a knockout of Sergei Pavlovich. And in doing so, the 31-year-old fighter moved one step closer to a dream fight with Jon Jones.

Jones, 37, holds the regular belt but is out with an injury. The American is expected to return later this year to defend his title against former champion Stipe Miocic, 41.

In the main event of UFC 304, Edwards’ welterweight title reign was ended in comprehensive fashion by Muhammad, who defeated the Jamaican-born Briton on all three scorecards – 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 – in a rematch of their 2021 encounter.

The first bout ended in a no contest after Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye, while each fighter had been doing perfectly well in recent years.

However, only Muhammad, 36, was able to maintain that form on Saturday. With his unanimous decision victory over Edwards, the Palestinian-American ended a title reign that began in 2022 – when Edwards knocked out Kamaru Usman in stunning fashion.

Edwards, 32, retained his belt against Usman and Colby Covington with decision wins in 2023, but the Birmingham fighter failed to go any further on Saturday.

Muhammad took Edwards down several times and controlled the Brit for most of the fight. In the final minute, Edwards managed to gain the upper hand and clear a path for his challenger, but the damage came too late.

“It seems like a lot of the people who are booing have a lot of tears in their eyes right now,” Muhammad told the Manchester crowd, before Edwards said: “My body was tired from the first round. All week I felt tired, but good job to Belal.

“Not long (before I go back). One more this year. November or December, I’m ready to go.”

Elsewhere at UFC 304, Liverpool star Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett submitted Bobby King Green in the first round, but the lightweight’s friend and fellow Scouser Molly McCann was defeated on points by Bruna Brasil.