Leon Edwards and Sean Brady, UFC London ceremonial weigh-ins Credit score: Patrick McCorry/Cageside Press
With Jack Della Maddalena shifted to UFC 315 to tackle welterweight champ Belal Muhammad, it was #5-ranked Sean Brady stepping in to headline UFC London in opposition to former champ Leon Edwards on Saturday.
A key battle for the 170lb division which may simply produce a title challenger (after JDM and Shavkat Rakhmonov, anyway), Edwards and Brady on the O2 Enviornment closed out an evening that noticed zero finishes on the ft, and simply three submissions – with the remaining 9 contests going the gap.
The cardboard had additionally seen the retirement of Liverpool staple Molly McCann, following a submission loss by the hands of newcomer Alexia Thairara.
An American dealing with a Brit on English soil with the followers behind him, Brady regarded to press the motion early, pushing ahead and initiating the exchanges. The pair traded in shut, clinching up at instances, the place knees grew to become a menace – although Edwards was capable of keep some wrist management and stop Brady from doing any harm. That wrist management could be key greater than as soon as, with Edwards touchdown a knee in one other clinch close to the halfway mark. One other clinch, and one other knee, adopted by the previous champ. Brady, nonetheless, ended the spherical on high after the pair hit the mat within the ultimate seconds.
Spherical two opened with Sean Brady blasting right into a double-leg takedown, although Edwards would have the ability to keep upright in shut in opposition to the cage. That didn’t final, with Brady then dragging Edwards down; Brady then transitioned to the highest with a candy, then to the again, methodically securing one hook, then one other. Hooks quickly grew to become a physique triangle, with a full three minutes nonetheless on the clock.
After a minute, Edwards briefly escaped the physique triangle and bought to a knee, eliciting an enormous cheer from the London crowd. Their jubilation was brief lived, nonetheless, as Brady reestablished high management, and wound up in half guard threatening with submissions till Edwards rolled and gave up his again. Then got here the bottom n’ pound as Leon Edwards writhed and squirmed and turned. He escaped the spherical, however it couldn’t have gone higher for Sean Brady, in need of a end or knockdown.
Issues went from dangerous to worse for Leon Edwards in spherical three, as he was shortly reversed off his personal takedown try, with Sean Brady in mount simply 90 seconds in. Brady tied up an arm and unleashed quite a few unanswered punches. Edwards survived, bought to a knee, then tried to put up up, just for Brady to be throughout him. Because the spherical progressed Brady would threatened with a rear-naked choke after taking the again, although once more, Edwards in some way managed to outlive to the horn.
Spherical 4 discovered Leon Edwards badly in want of a course correction. That correction regarded out of attain virtually instantly when Brady simply took the previous welterweight champ down, planting him on his again, head pointed away from the fence. With Brady on high in half guard, he locked up a mounted guillotine, and earlier than lengthy, Edwards was compelled to faucet! Like that, #5 had defeated #1, and Sean Brady had what was unquestionably the largest win of his career- in a battle he wasn’t even scheduled for initially.
Official End result: Sean Brady def. Leon Edwards by submission (guillotine choke), Spherical 4, 1:39
