Urgency the difference for Belal Muhammad, Tom Aspinall in UFC 304 title fights

Urgency was the key to Saturday night’s twin championship fights at UFC 304 in Manchester, England, with the competitors that stepped in the Octagon locked in and looking like they understood the assignments in front of them: departing Co-op Live with championship gold in their possession.

Belal Muhammad walked straight across the Octagon and took the fight to Leon Edwards in the opening round of the main event, easily depositing the defending champion on the canvas to begin what was largely a one-sided contest that ended with the Chicagoland native becoming the new UFC welterweight champion.

There was a greater sharpness to Muhammad’s striking than in recent performances, and he used that crisper striking to keep Edwards off balance and backing up to the fence, where he was able to secure relatively easy takedowns that allowed him to salt away the first two rounds and put the British standout in desperate need of a rally.

After Edwards won the third by out-grappling Muhammad, the challenger immediately responded by again taking the action to Edwards, dragging him to the canvas and leaving him in need of another Salt Lake City miracle that never materialized.

From the outset, the 36-year-old Muhammad fought with the urgency of a man that knew this was his one and one and only chance to claim UFC gold.

Despite a five-fight winning streak against ranked, respected opponents and run of 10 consecutive bouts without a loss, the Palestinian-American was forced to watch from the sidelines as Colby Covington challenged for the title last December. Earlier this year, he patiently waited at the ready to face Edwards at UFC 300 (or any other point before Saturday night) when the promotion was in need of a main event, only to hear the names of three other Muslim fighters in the midst of observing Ramadan thrown out as possible opponents for the British titleholder.

While Islam Makhachev, Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Khamzat Chimaev have refrained from competing during the month of fasting, prayer, reflection, and community, Muhammad has always continued to train and shown a willingness to compete during the 29- or 30-day period. He also had to wait more than three years for Edwards to finally agree to face him a second time after their initial encounter ended 18-seconds into the second round when “Rocky” accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye, rendering him unable to continue.

When you’ve had all of those obstacles placed in front of you in one manner or another, it sends a message, and Muhammad clearly used it as motivation to fuel a desperate effort to make the absolute most of his overdue championship opportunity and bring the title home to Second City.

The new champion’s focus and understandable urgency stood in stark contrast to the deposed ruler’s drowsy demeanour throughout the contest.

Edwards conceded the opening takedown like he was resigned to being put on the canvas, and while he worked back to his feet relatively quickly and without taking any appreciable damage, there seemed to be no fire in the Birmingham native for much of the fight. He looked drowsy — as if the odd fight time had left him battling not only Muhammad, but his body’s desire to be in bed, rather than in the midst of a high-pressure championship fight, and while he flashed a slight sense of urgency late when he reversed into top position and split Muhammad open, it was far too little, far too late.

In the co-main event, Tom Aspinall was clearly present and ready to roll from the moment he started walking to the Octagon, soaking in the adoration of the partisan crowd in Manchester, just 20 minutes or so down the road from where he lives.

Though he got buzzed early by Curtis Blaydes, all it did was affirm to the interim heavyweight champion that he needed to get after it straight away, and that’s exactly what he did, resetting and then re-engaging with the challenger; sitting him down with a short left hand in tight before pounding out the finish as Blaydes lay belly-down on the canvas.

It was a performance eerily reminiscent of Aspinall’s title-winning effort against Sergei Pavlovich last November at Madison Square Garden where the Russian powerhouse clipped him with a shot in one of the very first exchanges, prompting Aspinall to quickly respond. In both instances, the Brit’s speed and power proved too much for his foes, as Blaydes fell the same way Pavlovich did, leaving Aspinall to stand triumphant in the centre of the Octagon with UFC gold wrapped around his waist.

What makes the performances of all four of these men all the more intriguing is that each played to type at UFC 304, as the victors have a long track record of getting after it straight away, while the vanquished competitors have exhibited a tendency to be a little lethargic at times.

And it’s time we start discussing that sense of urgency, that ability to be present and dialled into the moment as a critical strength for those who consistently display it inside the Octagon.

Everyone knew Muhammad was going to be locked and loaded, ready to come forward and pressure Edwards for 25 minutes if need be, and from the first second of the fight, he played to type. The same goes Aspinall, who has seen the second round only once in his UFC career and has a penchant for putting opponents away quickly.

While some of that is the nature of heavyweight MMA, it’s also because — as Aspinall has talked about many times in the past — he is fully cognizant of the constant risk present every second he’s in the cage with another man, and he has no interest in wasting time or messing about in there.

That ability to hit the cage ready to execute from the very first second of the fight is a critical trait not all fighters have, and it is becoming increasingly important, especially at the elite level of the sport.

You cannot give up rounds, cannot get behind against legitimate world-class talents, because you end up in the position Edwards found himself against Muhammad: down two rounds and needing to either sweep the scorecards or find a finish in order to retain his title.

Doing that against anyone is difficult, but doing it against a motivated standout that now has momentum on their side is doubly challenging, and very seldom is any fighter — even one as skilled and successful as Edwards — going to be able to rally against those kinds of odds.

Blaydes’ situation is slightly different, as the fight lasted just 60 seconds, but even in that lone minute, there are instances where you can point to a need for greater urgency, and Aspinall showing it being a contributing factor to his victory.

The challenger, who also hails from the Chicagoland area like Muhammad, never quite looks switched all the way on when his fights begin, and even though he landed a couple good shots on Aspinall early, Blaydes failed to follow-up, and perhaps even failed to recognize how well he landed.

Soon after he touched the Brit with a long left hand, Aspinall pressed forward and put Blaydes down, prompting the challenger to go flat on the canvas and absorb the torrent of punches that caused the finish. As much as Blaydes wasn’t significantly hurt and objected to the stoppage right away, the visual of being face-down on the canvas looks awful, especially when Aspinall is feverishly pumping unanswered punches into the side of your head.

That finishing sequence is a perfect summation of the differences between the two, and literally and figuratively the reason why one is being hailed as the best active heavyweight in the sport and the other merely a largely successful fighter unlikely to earn championship gold at any point in his career.

It’s difficult for an athlete to be switched on and loaded up with measured urgency from the second they cross the threshold into the Octagon, but it is becoming more and more essential.

The two athletes that did so on Saturday night in Manchester walked out of UFC 304 as champions, and that should be all the evidence other competitors and their coaches need to do whatever is necessary to ensure they’re locked in under the bright lights. 

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