Please welcome the new Champion! Monster Energy congratulates MMA athlete Belal Muhammad on defeating Leon Edwards to claim the UFC Men’s Welterweight Championship title at UFC 304 in Manchester, United Kingdom. In the event’s headline fight, the 36-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, battled his opponent for five rounds to earn a unanimous decision victory.
UFC 304: Edwards vs. Muhammad 2 was contested in front of 17,900 spectators inside the Co-op Live venue in Manchester, England. Featuring five fights on the Main Card, the event was broadcast live on ESPN, and the Prelims streamed on the ESPN+ platform.
Monster Energy’s Muhammad (24-3) stepped into the Octagon in Manchester on a ten-fight win streak and has been undefeated since April 2019. The American fighter, born to Palestinian parents in Chicago, most recently defeated Brazilian Gilbert Burns at UFC 288 in May 2023.
Muhammad’s opponent was the reigning UFC Men’s Welterweight Champion, 32-year-old Edwards (22-4) from Kingston, Jamaica. Edwards took the title from Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in August 2022 and mastered two successful title defenses.
UFC 304 was a rematch for the two opponents: Muhammad and Edwards had first clashed in the Octagon at a UFC Fight Night in March 2021. Their fight was ruled a ‘no contest’ after Muhammad suffered an accidental eye poke. With the Bantamweight title on the line, the rematch in Manchester would finally settle the score.
From the start, Muhammad pressured the reigning champion with high-volume strikes that put Edwards on the defense. No longer able to resort to his notorious striking, Edwards found himself overpowered by Muhammad’s grappling and ground control.
Although Edwards successfully evaded the challenger’s submission attempts, Muhammad effectively controlled the fight and set the pace. A key scene unfolded in the second round when Muhammad slammed Edwards head-first into the ground, followed by near submissions over the following rounds. Although Muhammad absorbed heavy shots to the body and a fierce elbow in the final moments of the fight, he retained the upper hand.
Ultimately, the win was undeniable: Over the course of the five-round bout, Muhammad dominated his opponent with nine successful takedowns, racking up a total of 12:02 minutes of control time. The judges scored the night’s headline fight a unanimous decision victory (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) for Muhammad to claim the 170-pound division championship title.
“We have a real champion in Chicago now!” said Monster Energy’s Muhammad after claiming the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 304 in Manchester, adding: “He said I’m no Khabib [Nurmagomedov] or Georges St-Pierre. I’m Belal Muhammad! I’m my own man. Now, the world knows it and sees it. Now, they have to respect it. I’m a world champion.”
Belal makes history as the first UFC champion of Palestinian descent. With the win, he became the first fighter above the age of 35 to unseat a UFC champion in weight classes 170 pounds and below. Muhammad made his UFC debut in 2016 and made himself an undeniable force with consecutive high-profile victories. His victory streak now stands at 11 wins. Remember the name!
Belal Muhammad counts among Monster Energy’s elite UFC athletes along with Kamaru Usman, Jon Jones, Chris Weidman, Rose Namajunas, Marlon Vera, Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, Yair Rodriguez, Jessica-Rose Clark, Valentina Shevchenko, Brandon Moreno, Daniel Rodriguez, Punahele Soriano, Gilbert Burns, Giga Chikadze, Johnny Walker, Beneil Dariush, Gaston Bolanos, Brendan Allen, Jalin Turner, Sean Strickland, Zhang Weili, Dan Ige, Diego Lopes, Alex Pereira, Daniel Zellhuber, Derrick Lewis, Alexa Grasso, and Cameron Saaiman.
For more on Monster Energy’s MMA athletes, visit www.monsterenergy.com. You can also follow Monster Energy on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
