Kamaru Usman knocked out Jorge Masvidal before a packed arena Saturday, retaining his welterweight title at UFC 261.
Usman (19-1-0) dropped Masvidal (35-15-0) with a right hand to the jaw one minute, two seconds into the second round.
The devastating blow landed seconds after the American had faced Usman with his hands lowered, smiling at the Nigerian.
Usman has won 14 consecutive fights, trailing only Anderson Silva's 16-fight run from 2006 to 2012 in UFC history.
"I know with my fundamentals I am the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet right now," Usman said.
Usman's strike prompted an eruption from the crowd of 15,269 in Jacksonville, Florida, capping an evening billed as the first full-capacity indoor event since the coronavirus pandemic took off in March 2020.
The marquee fight was a rematch from UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi last July, which Usman won by unanimous decision.
Saturday marked only the second time in his long career that Masvidal has been knocked out, with the previous one occuring in 2008.
In the co-main event, Rose Namajunas (11-4-0) knocked out Zhang Weili (21-2-0) with a kick to the head at 1:18 in the first round to reclaim the strawweight title -- the first woman to do so in any weight class in UFC history.
The American originally won the belt in November 2017 but lost it to Jessica Andrade in May 2019. She defeated Andrade in the rematch at UFC 251.
Andrade (21-9-0) also was on Saturday's card, falling via TKO to Valentina Shevchenko (21-3-0) in the second round.
Earlier, veteran fighter Chris Weidman's lower right leg appeared to snap on a kick 17 seconds into his bout with Uriah Hall (17-9), ending the match in a TKO. Weidman, 36, was carried out on a stretcher.
New Champion: Muhammad strikes Welterweight gold after dominant win over Edwards in UFC 304 main event
A new UFC Welterweight champion has been crowned as Belal Muhammad dethroned Leon Edwards in a stunning unanimous decision victory in the main event of UFC 304 at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England on Saturday.
In the highly anticipated rematch, Muhammad, now the first ever Palestinian-American UFC champion, put on a wrestling clinic to neutralize Leon Edwards’ striking and secure a unanimous decision win.
The judges scored the bout 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46, all in favor of Muhammad.
Muhammad’s game plan was clear from the outset as he repeatedly took Edwards down and controlled him on the ground.
Despite Edwards’ attempts to escape and land strikes from the bottom, Muhammad’s grappling prowess and improved striking kept the champion at bay throughout the 25 minutes.
“It sounds like a lot of the people booing have a lot of tears in their eyes right now,” an emotional Muhammad said in his post-fight interview.
“I’ve worked my whole life for this moment, and I’m just getting started,” he added.
Edwards put his lackluster performance down to fatigue in the week leading up to the fight.
“No surprises. My body just felt tired from round one. Congrats to Belal. He got the job done and we’ll get it back again,” Edwards said after the fight.
The Kingston-born southpaw was attempting to successfully defend his title for the third time.
Edwards, Muhammad successfully make weight ahead of UFC Welterweight Championship clash at UFC 304 in Manchester
The UFC 304 main event between Jamaican-born British UFC Welterweight champion Leon Edwards and number two ranked Belal Muhammad is now official after both men successfully weighed in at the Welterweight title fight limit of 170 pounds on Friday morning.
Edwards weighed in at 170 pounds while Muhammad came in one pound under at 169 pounds ahead of their rematch at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England on Saturday.
Their first fight back in March 2021 ended in a no contest after Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye, leaving him temporarily unable to see clearly.
On Saturday, Edwards will be looking to defend his Welterweight crown for the third time since winning it at UFC 278 in August 2022 while Muhammad will be looking for his sixth win in a row and first hold on a UFC title.
Friday’s weigh-ins went about as well as one can go as no fighter on the main card or prelims missed weight.
The rest of the main card is as follows:
Interim champion Tom Aspinall (251 lbs) vs Curtis Blaydes (256 lbs) for the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship
King Green (154.5 lbs) vs Paddy Pimblett (156 lbs) at lightweight
Christian Leroy Duncan (185 lbs) vs Gregory Rodrigues (185 lbs) at middleweight
Arnold Allen (145 lbs) vs Giga Chikadze (146 lbs) at featherweight
Edwards predicts knockout win over Muhammad in UFC 304 main event- “He’s another guy that’s in my way”
Jamaican-born British UFC Welterweight Champion Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards is predicting a knockout victory over opponent, number 2 ranked Belal Muhammad, in the main event at UFC 304 in Manchester this Saturday.
Edwards (22-3) enters Saturday’s fight coming off four wins in a row since a no contest against Muhammad in their first fight in March 2021 while Muhammad (23-3) has won five straight since that fight.
The 32-year-old southpaw was asked by MyProtein in a pre-fight interview how he plans to get the victory over Muhammad this weekend.
“Knock him out,” was his simple answer.
“I feel like, for this fight, I want to go out there and get a finish. We’ve fought before. I’ve felt his range and distance. I feel like I’m just the better overall mixed martial artist and I’ll prove that come Saturday night,” Edwards added.
If his prediction of a knockout comes true, it would be the fourth knockout for Edwards in 18 UFC fights.
His last win of that method was his famous head kick knockout win over former champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 in August 2022 to win the Welterweight title.
“I’m number one. I’m the best and that’s all it is. He’s another guy that’s in my way for me to get to where I want to get to and that’s it,” he said.
As far as his preparation goes, Edwards said a lot of hard work was put in to prepare for this upcoming fight.
“Camp’s been good. A lot of hard work. The team pushed me hard this camp and I’m feeling good for it,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to headlining my second homecoming show back in the UK,” he added.
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