The former UFC welterweight champion, Leon Edwards will look to bounce back from losing his title last time out when he headlines in London’s O2 Arena this weekend. Originally scheduled to clash with Australian striker, Jack Della Maddalena, Edwards will now meet American wrestler, Sean Brady.
In what is, without a doubt, a pivotal moment in his career, Rocky will look to bounce back from his first loss since 2015. Brady, on the other hand, will look to continue his winning run after losing to the now champion, Belal Muhammad.
Leon Edwards – Highest of Highs, Lowest of Lows
Leon Edwards will look to remain in the title picture in London having lost his last bout. His epic, now world famous knockout of Kamaru Usman at UFC 278 was, without a doubt the best moment of his career and potentially his entire life. It wasn’t a fluke, however, he drilled the high kick, seen around the world. In the rematch, he was able to do enough to deny Usman’s attempts to win his belt back immediately.
He then took on ‘worthy’ contender, Colby Covington, dominating the fight 49-46 on all scorecards. Covington appeared to be the perfect opponent for Edwards to prepare for his next foe, Muhammad. Edwards had faced Muhammad earlier on in both men’s careers, however, that one ended in a no-contest due to an eye poke.
Heading into the bout Rocky was the favourite and was riding a wave of confidence. A mere 20 seconds into the fight, however, Leon Edwards found himself being lifted up by Muhammad and dumped on the octagon floor. It was a sign of things to come for Edwards, who was out-wrestled and worryingly for the Birmingham man, was outstruck at points in the fight. A unanimous decision saw Edwards lose his belt after making just two defences and suffer his first loss in nine years.
The comeback begins in London, but he has a tough test ahead of him, especially with the bookmakers. DraftKings has the former champion sitting at a +124 underdog, whereas Brady is a -148 favourite.
Brady to Wrestle?
Brady, aside from having some of the best tattoos in the UFC, is a phenomenal wrestler. Aside from Muhammad, Brady has taken down every opponent he’s faced, which could be an issue for Edwards. He’s competent when the fight gets down to the floor, securing five submissions across his 17 wins. Importantly, he was also able to negate any attacks from dangerous ground expert, Gilbert Burns last time out.
Brady lands an average of 3.49 takedowns per 15 minutes, with a success rate of 52%, which shows that not only is he relentless with the takedown, but is more often than not, successful.
Leon Edwards has a takedown defence of 65%, however, has been taken down 20 times in his last four fights, including nine in his last bout with Muhammad. That could be a big issue for the Brit. The UK crowd, notoriously, love a scrap. They don’t like heavy wrestling exchanges, especially when there is little action on the ground. The crowd could get on the back of Edwards if Brady can hold him down for a prolonged period of time.
Whatever happens in this one, the winner positions themselves very much in the title picture.
