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Tom Aspinall retained his interim heavyweight title with a rapid knockout of Curtis Blaydes on Saturday, before Leon Edwards lost the welterweight belt to Belal Muhammad in the UFC 304 main event.
Wigan’s Aspinall needed just one minute to floor Blaydes with a one-two, flatten out the American on the canvas, and force a finish.
With that, Aspinall avenged a 2022 loss to Blaydes, a defeat that occurred when the Briton sustained a knee injury just 15 seconds into their fight in London.
In Manchester, Aspinall was able to prove his superiority over Blaydes, 33, retaining the interim belt that he won in November with a knockout of Sergei Pavlovich. And in doing so, the 31-year-old moved a step closer to a dream fight with Jon Jones.
Jones, 37, holds the regular belt but is out injured, with the American expected to return later this year in a title defence against former champion Stipe Miocic, 41.
In the main event of UFC 304, Edwards’s welterweight title reign was ended in comprehensive fashion by Muhammad, who beat the Jamaican-born Briton on all three scorecards – 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 – in a rematch of their 2021 meeting.
Their first clash ended as a No Contest, after Edwards accidentally landed an eye poke on Muhammad, while each man had otherwise been faultless in recent years.
Only Muhammad, 36, was able to retain that form on Saturday, however. 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 the belt against Usman and Colby Covington with decision wins in 2023, but the Birmingham fighter could go no further on Saturday.
Muhammad took down Edwards multiple times and controlled the Briton for the majority of the bout. In the final minute, Edwards was able to gain top position and cut open his challenger, but the damage came too late.
“It sounds like a lot of the people booing have a lot of tears in their eyes right now,” Muhammad told the Manchester crowd, before Edwards said: “My body just felt tired from round one. All week I felt tired, but good job to Belal.
“Not too long [before I’m back]. One more this year. November or December, I’m ready to go.”
Elsewhere at UFC 304, Liverpudlian star Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett submitted Bobby King Green in the first round, but the lightweight’s friend and fellow Scouser Molly McCann was outpointed by Bruna Brasil.
