Leon Edwards, UFC 304 official weigh-in Credit score: Patrick McCorry/Cageside Press
The UFC’s return to London, England now has a primary occasion set, and there’s little shock at seeing Leon Edwards concerned.
On Friday, promotion officers introduced that Edwards (22-4, 1NC), a former welterweight champ, would tackle Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) within the UFC London headliner. The occasion takes place on March 22, 2025 on the O2 Enviornment in London.
Britain’s Edwards will probably be seeking to bounce again from the lack of his title, to Belal Muhammad, final 12 months. He first captured gold in August of 2022, dethroning Kamaru Usman, then defeating “The Nigerian Nightmare” in a direct rematch. One other title protection, over Colby Covington, would observe earlier than “Rocky” misplaced his belt to Muhammad at UFC 304 final July.
At 33, Edwards is exiting his prime whereas Australia’s Maddalena is coming into his. The 28-year previous is getting his most important step up in competitors to this point, however has been flawless since coming into the UFC in 2022, rattling off seven straight wins. Maddalena has not misplaced for the reason that first two fights of his professional profession, the truth is, leaving him on a 17-fight win streak general. That features victories over Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland.
A victory over a former champion in Edwards, nevertheless, may put Maddalena on a collision course with the winner of Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov. Initially slated for UFC 310 in December, an harm to Muhammad noticed Rakhmonov as an alternative face (and defeat) Ian Machado Garry. Muhammad vs. Rakhmonov is now anticipated to happen later this 12 months.
Leon Edwards is at the moment ranked #1 within the UFC welterweight division, whereas Jack Della Maddalena is available in at #4.
UFC London at the moment consists of the next reported match-ups:
Leon Edwards vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Jan Błachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg
Molly McCann vs. Istela Nunes
Alonzo Menifield vs. Oumar Sy
Jai Herbert vs. Chris Padilla
Marcin Tybura vs. Mick Parkin
Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Felipe dos Santos
Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Andrey Pulyaev
Shauna Bannon vs. Puja Tomar
Nathaniel Wooden vs. Morgan Charrière
Caolán Loughran vs. Nathan Fletcher
