UFC star Belal Muhammad got a hero’s welcome as he drove down Wilmslow Road following his shock win over Birmingham-based fighter Leon Edwards this weekend.
In a blockbuster night of combat sports at the Co-op Live, the first time the promotion has returned to Manchester since 2016, the American mixed martial artist stunned those inside the arena and watching at home with a huge victory over the Jamaican-born Brit.
Clinching the welterweight title with a dominant display against Edwards, who saw his 12-fight unbeaten streak brought to an end, it was arguably the biggest story of the highly anticipated fight card.
Neither of the fighters are from the area but judging by the scenes along Wilmslow Road following the fight, you’d be forgiven for thinking Belal Muhammad was a Manc through and through.
As you can see from the images above, the 36-year-old and his entourage suddenly found themselves swarmed by hordes of fans and shutting down a significant stretch of Rusholme.
ADVERTISEMENT
You’ll find Curry Mile bustling pretty much every week in 0161 but it’s very few people that can effectively lock off a good chunk of one of Greater Manchester’s busiest roads like this – especially when Edwards was one of three big-name UK fighters being backed on the night.
The pair had faced each other previously back in 2021 but the bout ultimately had to be stopped after an accidental eye poke by the Brummy.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nevertheless, the question of who would come out on top was finally answered and in convincing fashion, with Muhammad throwing and out-clinching his opponent for the majority of the match before getting the win in the fifth round.
The result produced some memorable scenes out on the streets long after the referee’s decision, with the Chicago fighter of Palestinian heritage getting a rousing reception from south Manchester residents.
okay this video of Belal Muhammad riding through Manchester in Palestine colours with the belt goes kind of hard pic.twitter.com/JdJs1IgAq2
Speaking after the fight, Muhammad told the media that he was tired coming into the fight, not that it ended up being a problem, going on to definitely declare: “I’m no Khabib [Nurmagomedov], I’m no GSP [Georges St-Pierre] I’m Belal Muhammad.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Elsewhere, in a similarly bold statement, homegrown hero Tom Aspinall signed off his first heavyweight title defence by calling out UFC legend Jon Jones.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
29th July 2024 
