New UFC Welterweight Champion Crowned at UFC 304

Belal Muhammad defeated Leon Edwards in the main event of UFC 304 after successfully using his grappling style to his advantage. Leon took the second and the fifth rounds of the fight, but it was clear by the end of the bout that the UFC had a new champion. Belal won the fight 48-47, which makes sense considering his performance.

Through the majority of the fight, Belal held Leon Edwards in a clinch and attempted a few takedowns, some of which were successful. Leon Edwards is a great striker who has been able to outland nearly every fighter he has faced off against, but Belal was able to stay on par with Leon on the feet to the surprise of everyone. Belal also had great cardio in this fight, something that Leon was likely not expected coming into it.

This was a borderline dominant performance considering that Belal was also winning most of the fifth round until the final minute. He looked more confident in the fight and outfought the former champion, and earned the UFC Welterweight Championship with no controversy. With Belal Muhammad now being the new UFC Welterweight Champion, it’s important to look at what’s next for the champion and how long he may reign.

What’s Next For Belal Muhammad after UFC 304 Win?

Many top fighters in the welterweight division can make arguments as to why they deserve the next title shot, which has resulted in no clear undisputed no.1 contender at 170. This also means that the UFC has some leeway as to who they want to give the next title shot to. After a lengthy reign, Edwards has likely earned himself an immediate rematch for the welterweight title and that will probably be the next fight the UFC makes. Leon had a good performance against Belal tonight, so it’s clear that he is very capable of going head-to-head with the new champion.

There could be a chance that Edwards may not be immediately ready for a rematch considering that he just went a full five rounds, and if that’s the case the UFC has multiple options they can go with for Muhammad’s first defense. The first and most obvious name is Shavkat Rakhmonov, an undefeated welterweight contender who is coming off a huge TKO win over Stephen Thompson, and has three TKO wins in his last three fights, all against ranked opponents.

Other names that may be in the conversation include Ian Machado Garry and Jack Della Maddalena. Garry is an undefeated 15-0 fighter who is coming off of a win against #13 ranked Michael Venom Page. He is coming off three straight wins over ranked fighters and is certainly in the conversation. JDM recently defeated #6 welterweight Gilbert Burns, arguably even having a better argument than Shavkat considering that he has fought a higher-ranked opponent.

There is also a chance that former UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman will get the next title shot, but considering that he is coming off three straight losses, it might not be the most logical decision. Whichever route the UFC wants to go after UFC 304, it’s clear that Belal Muhammad has many names he can take on next and showed tonight that he may be able to defeat all of them.