5 takeaways from UFC 304: Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad 2
The UFC visited Manchester last night for a major pay-per-view. While the show wasn't always a thriller, it definitely threw up some talking points.
UFC 304: Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad 2 featured a title change in the headliner, and potentially star-making turns for a couple of other fighters.
However, it also featured some low points, as well as a couple of controversial calls from the promotion.
With that in mind, here are five takeaways from UFC 304: Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad 2.
#5 Muhammad Mokaev may count amongst the biggest 'what if' stories in UFC history
Early last week, it became apparent that things weren't exactly rosy between the UFC and flyweight contender Muhammad Mokaev.
The unbeaten prospect saw his bout with Manel Kape - which was largely viewed as a title eliminator - moved to the preliminary portion of last night's event.
'The Punisher' blamed this on the fact that the promotion allegedly weren't too keen on his takedown-heavy style. He also revealed the fight with Kape was the final one on his current deal, and there was a chance he wouldn't be re-signed because of this.
When it came to fight time, Mokaev delivered and took his overall MMA record to 13-0, comfortably outpointing 'Starboy' over three rounds.
After the event, though, it came to light that indeed, 'The Punisher' was on his way out of the UFC. According to Dana White, the PFL would be receiving a "great, undefeated guy," but one who had far more issues than just being wrestle-heavy.
What were those issues? They'll probably come out in time, but for now, Mokaev must count amongst the biggest missed opportunities in octagon history. He could well have challenged - if not beaten - Alexandre Pantoja for the flyweight title.
Unfortunately, though, we'll now likely never know how high his ceiling could've been.
#4 Dana White may have been overly harsh to his fighters in his post-event rant
One of the biggest news items coming into UFC 304 last week was that Dana White had increased the event's post-fight bonuses to $100k, doubling the usual standard of $50k.
Unfortunately, in White's eyes at least, this didn't have the desired effect.
In the post-fight press conference, the promotion's CEO stated that he would never again raise the bonuses on offer prior to an event after they didn't seem to push anyone on the card to fight harder.
So did White have a point, or was he being harsh? In all honesty, there's definitely an argument for the latter.
Sure, the card featured seven straight decisions at one point. However, none of those fights were outright stinkers, and there were also five excellent finishes on offer, most notably from Paddy Pimblett and Tom Aspinall.
More to the point, while White dismissed the claims of the event being affected by its odd start time in the UK (essentially the early hours of the morning to fall in line with the US pay-per-view market), it might be something to consider for the next visit to Europe.
Overall, then, in the aftermath of the event, it's hard not to believe that the CEO was being overly harsh in his outlook.
#3 Paddy Pimblett could be a legitimate contender at 155 pounds
Given the amount of trash he'd talked to his opponent Bobby 'King' Green coming in, Paddy Pimblett was under a lot of pressure last night.
However, 'The Baddy' showed that far from being a gimmick fighter in need of protection from the UFC, he may well be the real deal at 155 pounds.
Despite Green's superior experience and credentials, it was Pimblett who looked like the veteran come fight time. He popped his foe with strikes from the outside, and when Green took him down, he hit a slick transition from a guillotine attempt to a triangle choke, and put him to sleep.
Given that Green came into the bout ranked at No.15 in the lightweight division and had only lost once, in a late-notice bout with Jalin Turner, in his last five fights, it's hard to understate this win.
'The Baddy' might not be ready to mix it with Islam Makhachev just yet, but this win should move him into the top fifteen at worst and into genuine title contention.
Considering nobody expected him to make it this far, it's probably time to give the Liverpool native his due. He might've been the most impressive fighter on offer last night.
#2 Tom Aspinall is the UFC's real heavyweight champion, regardless of what his title suggests
While he somehow didn't get a bonus award for his performance, it was impossible not to be impressed by interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall in his rematch with Curtis Blaydes.
The native of Liverpool needed just one minute to dispatch 'Razor' in violent fashion. The two men exchanged, Blaydes appeared to land cleanly, but that only seemed to anger Aspinall. He speared his foe with a huge right hand that dropped him, and quickly sealed the deal on the ground.
Remarkably, the win was Aspinall's eighth in the octagon, with just one of those bouts - his 2021 submission of Andrei Arlovski - leaving the first round.
Along the way, he's beaten Blaydes, Alexander Volkov, Marcin Tybura and Sergei Pavlovich, a handful of the best big men in the world.
Essentially, with Jon Jones having never even defended his title once after claiming it against Ciryl Gane in March 2023, Aspinall is the UFC's real heavyweight champion, even if his title is only an interim one.
With any hope, a fight between Aspinall and Jones - or Stipe Miocic - can be made for the early part of 2025. To see Jones or Miocic walk into the sunset without facing the big Brit would feel like cheating at this stage.
#1 What was to blame for Leon Edwards' flat performance against Belal Muhammad?
While last night's headline bout didn't go the way that the UK fans in Manchester would've hoped, it'd be unfair to give Belal Muhammad no credit. 'Remember the Name' fought excellently, largely dominated Leon Edwards, and now stands as the rightful holder of the UFC welterweight title.
Despite that, it's difficult not to question quite what went wrong for Edwards in this bout. 'Rocky' fought a worryingly flat fight and didn't look anything like the man who defeated Kamaru Usman twice and then outpointed Colby Covington handily.
Usually near-impervious to takedowns, Edwards found himself slammed to the ground on multiple occasions by Muhammad, was forced onto the back foot by his foe's jab, and outside of a strong third round, couldn't get a lot of his own offense going.
So what happened to 'Rocky'? The former champ stated that the event's late start time - around 5:30am local time - made him feel tired from the off, something that could definitely make sense with him fighting out of the UK.
However, for a fighter who had such a storied climb to the UFC welterweight crown, to see his reign end with a whimper rather than a bang was still disappointing.
With any hope, 'Rocky' can get back in the saddle soon and get back to his winning ways, even if he won't be getting an immediate rematch. To say this wasn't his night would be an understatement.