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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Belal Muhammad’s revenge was a long time coming, and he’s eager to savor it.

“Remember the Name” exited Co-op Live in Manchester, England, as the new UFC welterweight champion after defeating Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 304. It was the second meeting between the two fighters, with the first ending in a no contest when an eye-poke left Muhammad unable to continue after a little over five minutes of action.

That was back in March 2021. This time, Muhammad and Edwards went a full five rounds, much of which was dominated by Muhammad’s grappling. The judges were unanimous in their verdict — a unanimous nod for Muhammad — which ended a 13-fight unbeaten stretch for Edwards.

To say that Muhammad was vindicated in their rematch would be an understatement.

“I know I’m the best fighter in the world,” Muhammad said at the evening’s post-fight press conference. “I just had to prove it and I had to show you guys. We had three years and I had to sit there and dwell on that last fight, of everybody saying, ‘Oh, he would have beat him.’ ‘ He would have won the other rounds. He would have did this, he would have did that.’ We didn’t even get started that fight.

“This fight, we got started. This is what we did. We just dominated the champion, we made it look easy. We did it better than Colby [Covington] did, better than [Kamaru] Usman did, and they’re national champ wrestlers. They’re this, this, and this. We went to Bogan High School, shout out to Lou Taylor.”

Though Edwards’ run at the top of the 170-pound division lasted only a little over 700 days, he successfully defended the title against Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, two of his most successful contemporaries.

So would Muhammad be willing to book a trilogy next?

“Yeah, I’ll give him a rematch in three years,” Muhammad said. “Let him work his way back up. I think it was a dominant fight. There’s really no need for a rematch and I don’t think he had that long reign of a champion where he’s entitled to a rematch. For me, I came to his hometown in front of his people and in enemy territory, so it was all a layup for him. But I blocked it.”

Afterward, Muhammad and Edwards appeared to exchange pleasantries in the cage, though the broadcast did not pick up their dialogue. It was a standard post-fight exchange, Muhammad later explained. If anything, his beef has been more with social media critics than Edwards specifically.

“You always give respect after a fight, going through a battle,” Muhammad said. “For me, it was just, it took me three years to get that taste out of my mouth, three years to finally get this fight back, and I had to deal with all the haters and all the trolls and everybody saying he would have beat me, he would have did this, he would have did that, but now there’s nothing else for them to say.”

If not Edwards, then what’s next for Muhammad?

Undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov looms on the horizon, with 18 career wins all by knockout or submission. Then there’s the brash Ian Machado Garry and Australian knockout artist Jack Della Maddalena.

Suffice to say, Muhammad has no shortage of potential challengers with which to build his legacy.

“I think beating this next generation of guys,” Muhammad said, when asked how he further establishes his greatness. “You have Shavkat, you have Ian Garry, you have ‘JDM.’ So there’s these young up-and-comers that everybody’s saying are killers. They’re probably still saying these guys are going to kill me next, right? So if I go out there and I walk through all these guys and then I beat the old generation, there’s really — I just want to be the guy that did everything that you said I couldn’t do.

“Then if we go up, if Dricus [du Plessis] still has the [middleweigt] title, he beats [Israel] Adesanya, he was trying to talk tough to me. I’ll go smack him around, try to get two belts.”

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UFC 304 took place on Saturday at Co-op Live in Manchester, England and featured to title bouts.  The main event featured a welterweight title bout between champion Leon Edwards and second-ranked Belal Muhammad.

Muhammad defeated Edwards via unanimous decision and became the first UFC Palestinian champion.  Muhammad dominated large chunks of the fight with his ability to closer the distance and take Edwards down.  

In the co-main event, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall only needed 60 seconds to finish the fight.  

UFC 304 Post-Fight Press Conference  

MMAWeekly.com | UFC and MMA News, Results, Rumors, and Videos

Alrighty then
| BJPenn.com

ESPN+ had all sorts of problems … again.

UFC 304 took place last night (Sat., July 27, 2024), and in the main event, Leon Edwards lost his Welterweight title to Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision. In the co-headliner, Tom Aspinall made quick work of Curtis Blaydes (watch highlights).

All throughout the night, the UFC 304 broadcast was in complete shambles, from starting over 10 minutes later because of seven straight decisions to audio issues to black screens.

The broadcast showed a graphic of retired NFL Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger three times, and at the start of the final round of the Gregory Rodrigues vs. Christian Leeroy Duncan fight, ESPN+ went down for 30 seconds.

Check out some reactions.

UFC CEO Dana White was asked about the complete train wreck of a broadcast.

“How nutty is that?” White told the media during the UFC 304 post-fight press conference (watch here). “I guess ESPN was having all kinds of problems tonight, technically, with audio and graphics and NFL graphics were popping up, and I heard about it, but I don’t know why, but it was, it was an ESPN issue.”

ESPN+ is no stranger to having numerous problems with basically every single UFC fight card, but last night was by far the worst it has ever been, and for fans who paid $ 80, it is unacceptable.

But at the end of the day, nothing ever happens.

ESPN+ better fix the issues soon because UFC TV rights are up, and there are several other options.

For complete UFC 304: “Edwards vs. Muhammad” results and play-by-play, click HERE!

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Tom Aspinall took care of business. Again.

Now the ball is in Jon Jones’ court.

In the co-main event of UFC 204 on Saturday in Manchester, England, Aspinall authored an emphatic defense of his interim heavyweight title by defeating Curtis Blaydes via first-round knockout. Not only did Aspinall avenge a fluke injury loss to Blaydes from 2022, he kept himself in line for a fight with Jones, the UFC champion he has been angling to fight for more than a year.

Aspinall assumes Jones was watching and that the last thing he wanted to see was Aspinall’s hand being raised.

“Jon’s the undisputed champion, but I’m the best in the world, if that makes any sense,” Aspinall said at the UFC 304 post-fight press conference. “We know what Jon’s doing. Jon was there, crossing his fingers and toes tonight hoping I’d lose to Curtis, let’s not bullshit about it. He posted about it loads anyway that I’m going to lose to him. That didn’t happen, so that’s the fight I want next.”

While it’s true Jones has been vocal about sticking to a previously booked matchup with heavyweight great Stipe Miocic as opposed to entertaining a fight with Aspinall, “Bones” was surprisingly absent from social media following Aspinall’s UFC 304 win.

Aspinall assumed Jones had chimed in by night’s end, but even if Jones doesn’t comment anytime soon, Aspinall feels their potential matchup already has plenty of steam behind it.

“I didn’t know that we hadn’t [heard from Jones], I’m sure we will at some stage,” Aspinall said. “He’ll be very angry about it or the fact that everyone’s saying that I can beat him, but that’s OK. On the contrary to what Jon Jones fanboys might think, I have nothing against Jon Jones as a person. I think I’m the best heavyweight in the world and if he thinks he’s the best heavyweight in the world, let’s settle it. Simple as that. It’s not rocket science. There’s two guys who are claiming to be the best heavyweight in the world. Let’s settle it, simple as that.”

“Jon Jones is a strange guy,” Aspinall later added. “I don’t know what he’s doing. He does some weird moves. I’m just over here trying to be the best heavyweight in the world, be the best version of myself. He’s done all that. He’s done everything. I’m not taking away from what he’s done in his career. The guy’s career is unbelievable, but me personally, I’m trying to fight people and that’s it. So I don’t know what he’s doing, I can’t speak for him.”

Jones has not fought since March 2023, when he dominated Ciryl Gane to win a vacant heavyweight title at UFC 285. He was scheduled to fight Miocic the following November, but was forced out of that bout due to injury.

A re-booking has not been announced, but all signs point to Jones and Miocic headlining UFC’s annual trip to Madison Square Garden in New York this November.

Aspinall awaits the winner.

“Whoever wins that one, I’m fighting next,” Aspinall said. “Unless they both retire.”

One of the only other options that makes sense for Aspinall right now would be light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira. “Poatan” has won gold at 185 pounds and 205 pounds, and would become the first three-division champion in UFC history if he moved up to heavyweight and defeated Aspinall.

That’s not Aspinall’s ideal scenario, but he could be talked into it with the right twist.

“They’re saying that Stipe and Jon Jones are going to fight in MSG in November,” Aspinall said. “Why don’t we do a tournament? We’ll do Jon, Stipe, me, Alex, and do a full-on tournament. Two fights in one night. And let’s find out who the real heavyweight champion of the world is. We’ve got the best heavyweight of all-time. We’ve got the best MMA fighter of all-time. We’ve got the light heavyweight champion. And then we’ve got me, who’s just a poxy interim champion.

“Let’s do that, two fights in one night, put it to Dana [White]. … I am honestly the biggest fan of Alex Pereira. He is one scary guy, but would that not be a cool little thing? Two fights in one night, let’s see how we get on. I’ve got the lowest average fight time in the UFC and it’s even lower after tonight. My chances of doing alright in that are pretty good. Let’s put some money on the table and let’s see who the guy is at heavyweight.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and former K-1 champion Rukiya Anpo went the distance in a three-round exhibition Sunday in the co-main event of Super RIZIN 3 in Tokyo, Japan.

With no judges ringside, the bout was ruled a draw and only could’ve had a winner if there was a knockout.

Pacquiao had experience on his side with 72 pro boxing bouts under his belt, but Anpo — 17 years younger and the tallest opponent Pacquiao has ever faced — gave him a hard night in the ring.

The Japanese striker landed a slick right hand to get things started and followed with a hard combination. Pacquiao responded by throwing back heat in final seconds of the opening round, however Anpo continued to use his huge reach advantage to attack from the outside in the second frame, not letting Pacquiao close in with dangerous shots.

As final round started, both men exchanged wildly, with Anpo landing twice on Pacquiao with hard shots in the first minute. Anpo then connected with another solid right to the body and went upstairs to rock Pacquiao one more time. Pacquiao finally answered back with a right hand in the final minute, and the two engaged in a brawl until the final bell rang.

Anpo would’ve likely won a decision if the bout was judged, but the draw was ultimately announced. Both athletes embraced in the ring and thanked the crowd before Pacquiao invited Ryan Garcia into the ring.

“I want to fight in Japan, and I want to challenge Anpo, Pacquiao, whoever,” Garcia said.

Anpo quickly responded with a jab at Garcia’s recent drug-testing failures, and Garcia shot back, “I do believe I knock out Anpo in three rounds.”

A featherweight showdown between Ren Hiramoto and Mikuru Asakura closed the show in devastating fashion. Hiramoto stunned with a vicious left hand in the opening round and once he smelled blood he just wouldn’t stop connecting punches left and right until Asakura went down. Hiramoto followed Asakura and kept hurting until referee called it.

The Super RIZIN 3 main card featured another former K-1 champion in action, Yuta Kubo, taking on ex-RIZIN champion Yutaka Saito. The two brawled in the opening round, both exchanging hard punches that rocked each other.

The action slowed down a bit in the second round until Kubo connected with a head kick and gained confidence, then landing flush on the body before sitting Saito down with a jab. Saito shot for a takedown but couldn’t keep Kubo there, and Kubo responded by landing a brutal left kick to the liver to finish off Saito.

Kubo has now won five MMA bouts in a row under the RIZIN banner, three by stoppage.

Hiromasa Ougikubo defeat his former student Makoto Shinryu in a tense contest to reenter the conversation for a shot at the flyweight championship, which is now in the hands of Kyoji Horiguchi. Ougikubo rocked Shinryu with a right hand before jumping for a guillotine choke, but Shinryu escaped. In the end, Ougikubo won via unanimous decision.

In the early portion of the card, 71-fight veteran Hideo Tokoro entered the ring for one final time and scored a first-round knockout over Hiroya Kondo in his retirement bout. Tokoro leaves the sport with a record of 36-33-2 and wins over Masakazu Imanari, Brad Pickett, Royler Gracie, and Alexandre Franca Nogueira.

BKFC champion John Dodson returned to Japan for a non-title bare-knuckle boxing clash with Takaki Soya. The two-time UFC title challenger scored multiple knockdowns — and persevered after suffering a cut to his face — to win a decision after five action-packed rounds and improve his bare-knuckle boxing record to 4-0-1.

Click here for the complete Super RIZIN 3 results.

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