Belal Muhammad made history as he became the first Arab to win a UFC title when he snatched the welterweight crown from English champion Leon Edwards on Saturday night.
The Chicago-born fighter, the son of Palestinian immigrants, took a five-round decision over Edwards at UFC 304 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.
Muhammad (23-3-0) and Edwards (22-4-0) first clashed on March 13, 2021, but the fight ended in a no contest after Edwards accidentally poked the American in the eye.
But on Saturday, the two went the distance, with Muhammad taking the decision 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 to lift the welterweight belt.
Afterwards, Muhammad, 36, his face bloodied from the battle, dropped to his knees after reeling off his 11th straight win before donning the championship belt. He has not lost since 2019.
“It sounds like all the people booing have a lot of tears in their eyes,” said Muhammad. “We've got a real champion in Chicago now.”
Muhammad, a practising Muslim who has twice fought in Abu Dhabi, has proudly waved the Palestinian flag during his career and said after his victory on Saturday: "I got my family here. This fight is for my family, for my people and Palestine. They're fighting the real fight."
Edwards defeated Kamaru Usman to win the belt in 2022 and had two successful title defences.
Elsewhere on Saturday's card, England's Tom Aspinall retained the UFC interim heavyweight championship after a brutal first-round knockout of Curtis Blaydes, setting up a potential clash with division great Jon Jones.
The 31-year-old Aspinall challenged Jones to a unification bout. Jones, widely regarded as one of the best MMA fighters of all time, has been sidelined by a torn pectoral tendon since his last fight in March 2023.
His absence forced the need for an interim champion. There are still hiccups – among them, Jones has at least one more title defence lined up.
“Who wants to see Tom Aspinall versus Jon Jones,” Aspinall told a roaring crowd in Manchester in UFC's first trip to the city since 2016.
Aspinall (15-3-0) then looked straight into a camera and called out Jones.
“I just think I'm better than you,” Aspinall said. “I know I can beat you in a fight.”
The interim title fight was a late addition to the card after Jones tore a pectoral tendon off the bone during training only weeks ahead of his scheduled heavyweight title defence against Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden. The fight had to be called off and Jones required elbow surgery after the injury.
Jones and Miocic will fight at a future date – with a potential showdown in November at the Garden in the running – and the winner will then meet Aspinall to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion.
In his first clash with Aspinall, Blaydes had needed only 15 seconds to win when the Englishman suffered a knee injury.
But in their rematch on Saturday, Aspinall rocked Blaydes with a big right hand that sent the challenger to the canvas before he finished him off with a series of rights to the head that ended the fight at just one minute of the first round.
“Now, I’ve got my revenge, thank God,” Aspinall said.
After their first fight, Blaydes went 1-1 over his next two fights. Aspinall had a date with history as he knocked out Sergei Pavlovich in the first round to become the first British heavyweight to win gold at UFC 295 last November at Madison Square Garden.
Saturday's victory over Blaydes was Aspinall's 12th career knockout win – he has made it to the second round just once in his nine UFC fights.
“I'm the best finisher in the UFC, man,” Aspinall said.
Also on the main card, Liverpool native and fan favourite Paddy Pimblett won his eighth straight fight – six with UFC – when he submitted Bobby Green in the first round.
Pimblett choked out Green at 3:22 of the first round, and put the promotion on notice he was coming for main event fights and let the lightweight division know that he was coming for the championship.
“Statement made,” Pimblett said. “To all you haters out there that said I’d never get a ranking, what now? Are they going to move the goalposts again?”
