Belal Muhammad finally realized his dream after putting on a suffocating performance to beat Leon Edwards and become welterweight champion on Saturday night in the UFC 304 main event.

While the win didn’t come quite as easily as he predicted, Muhammad delivered on his promise to prove his superiority and did so round after round. From a slew of takedowns to effective striking that kept Edwards off balance all night long, Muhammad showcased why he’s been calling for his title shot for the past two years before finally getting his opportunity.

There was no doubt when the fight ended that Muhammad did enough to win, with the judges scoring the fight 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 in his favor as Muhammad dethrones Edwards and becomes UFC champion.

“It sounds like all the people booing right now got a lot of tears coming out of their eyes,” Muhammad said addressing the raucous crowd in Manchester. “I see you guys with watery eyes right now. This is for my family, for my people in Palestine.”

It was clear throughout the fight that Muhammad and his coaches put together the perfect strategy to deal with Edwards. Muhammad got in Edwards’ face from the opening exchange and rarely gave him any time to breathe, leaving Edwards stuck fighting off his back foot. If not for a couple of reversals on the ground, the Englishman could’ve potentially been shut out on the scorecards.

It took only a matter of seconds into the fight for Muhammad to rush forward and get in deep on a takedown before tossing Edwards to the canvas. As the opening round wore on, Edwards started settling into a rhythm with some strong kicks and a nasty uppercut, but Muhammad kept coming right back at him. Just when it looked like Edwards was getting the better of the striking exchanges, Muhammad blasted him with an uppercut that wobbled the champion.

Muhammad followed that with another big takedown as he stayed in Edwards’ face, never giving him a moment to breathe. Time and time again, Muhammad applied constant pressure, which included another huge slam that dumped Edwards directly on his head.

While Edwards did manage a late reversal in the second round, Muhammad continued to toss him around the cage and control the pace throughout.

Another takedown followed to start Round 3, but Edwards slipped free this time and actually took Muhammad’s back as the welterweights were locked against the cage. Edwards continued to work for a potential submission for the majority of the round while Muhammad concentrated on his defense.

Muhammad stayed patient to get a restart in the fourth, which led to another rapid-fire combination on the feet and then another takedown from Muhammad, which led to him taking Edwards’ back on the ground. The challenger peppered away with punches after locking on the body triangle, leaving Edwards stuck in a bad spot.

With five minutes remaining, Edwards had to shift into desperation mode but instead found himself back on the ground with Muhammad latched onto his back. Muhammad got the body triangle and started hunting for a choke and a face crank while continuing to dish out punishment.

Edwards may as well have been sinking in quicksand until he finally exploded off the ground and blasted Muhammad with an elbow that opened up a nasty cut on his face. Still, it was too little, too late, as Muhammad raised his hands in victory once the fight came to a close.

More than three years removed from an eye poke ending their first meeting, Muhammad finally got his revenge and became champion with a truly impressive win over Edwards across all five rounds.

“I got the best team in the world,” Muhammad said. “We study to the core. We get better every single fight. He said it right, I’m not Khabib [Nurmagomedov], I’m not [Georges St-Pierre]. I’m Belal Muhammad. I’m my own man. I’m a world champion.”