Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards will test himself against rising star Sean Brady in the welterweight main event of a UFC Fight Night, set for the O2 Arena in London on the evening of Saturday 22 March 2025.
Edwards (22-4, 1 NC) is returning to the Octagon for the first time since losing the welterweight title to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in July of 2024.
‘Rocky’ won the belt off Kamaru Usman and then successfully defended it twice, defeating Usman in a rematch, as well as Colby Covington. However, Muhammad got the better of him via unanimous decision in Manchester last year.
The 33-year-old Englishman was originally set to face Jack Della Maddalena in this event, but the latter has been handed a title shot against Muhammed at UFC 315 in May, in the wake of an injury suffered by top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Edwards believes a win over Brady puts him in line for a shot at reclaiming the belt: “I’m focusing on Sean. I’m focusing on Sean Brady right now. I’ll go out there in London, get rid of him. Once I get rid of him, then the title shot is next for me.”
Brady (17-1) has won back-to-back matches in his last two trips to the Octagon, overcoming Kelvin Gastelum (via submission) and Gilbert Burns (via unanimous decision). His only professional defeat came at the hands of division champion Muhammad back in October 2022.
The 32-year-old American believes that loss was a result of his travelling to Abu Dhabi (where that fight was held) too late to make the necessary time-zone adjustments – an error he will avoid this time around.
“I made the mistake of when I fought in Abu Dhabi that was 12 hours, I only went out 10 days early for that so that was a 12-hour difference, I f***** up doing that, but this is only five hours [time difference between his base in Philadelphia and London], two more hours than [Las] Vegas, you’ve got to consider all of those things,” noted Brady.
The rest of the main card features a high-class light heavyweight battle between Jan Blachowicz and Carlos Ulberg; English favourite Molly McCann faces Alexia Thainara in a women’s flyweight clash; Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson takes on Kevin Holland in the welterweight division; Jordan Vucenic faces Chris Duncan in a lightweight fight; and a featherweight match pits Nathaniel Wood against Morgan Charriere.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT: Edwards v Brady – Main card
- Main event: Welterweight: Leon Edwards v Sean Brady
- Light heavyweight: Jan Blachowicz v Carlos Ulberg
- Welterweight: Gunnar Nelson v Kevin Holland
- Women’s flyweight: Molly McCann v Alexia Thainara
- Lightweight: Jordan Vucenic v Chris Duncan
- Featherweight: Nathaniel Wood v Morgan Charriere