UFC London is now one for the books and from a card that seemed positive ahead of fight night went down terribly. The main event was a onesided beat down with the home fighter, Leon Edwards on the wrong end of it. There were 18,583 people in attendance, bringing in a record Fight Night gate of $4.71 million, however, the 18,583 didn’t see a single finish via TKO/KO. It was a decision-heavy card with few highlights, four submissions and a night to forget overall.
English fighters went 3-6, including low IQ moments from English stars. The card lacked star power from the off with names such as Tom Aspinall, Paddy Pimblett, Arnold Allen, MVP all missing from the card.
We dive into UFC London and see what went so wrong.
I’ve lost count of the amount of UFC events I’ve attended and worked on
I can’t remember one ever being as lacklustre as that #UFCLondon
— Adam Catterall (@AdamCatterall) March 22, 2025
UFC London – English Fighters Struggle from the Start
Nathan Fletcher, Mick Parkin, Jai Herbert, Jordan Vucenic, Molly McCann, Leon Edwards. That’s a list of names of English fighters who lost at the O2 Arena last night. Not only that but Fletcher and Vucenic lost against local rivals in Caolan Loughran and Chris Duncan.
Mick Parkin put in a lacklustre performance in an instantly forgettable fight against Marcin Tybura, Jai Herbert had an entertaining fight against Chris Padilla, however, it wasn’t enough to get his hand raised on the night and Christian Leroy Duncan, aside from winning, didn’t put in a good performance.
Molly McCann and Leon Edwards, however, put in arguably career-worst performances. McCann, taking on late notice opponent, Alexia Thainara was dominated from the start. She was taken down and choked out in just 4:32. Following the loss, Meatball hung up the gloves for good, recognising that she has nothing left to give in the sport. You can check out our full piece on McCann’s retirement here. The card was helped out a lot by McCann’s retirement as it somewhat takes the shine off what was a dreadful night of fights.
As for Leon Edwards, UFC London was a night to forget. When will he learn to wrestle? Prior to fighting Sean Brady in the main event of this year’s UFC London, Edwards had been taken down 20 times in his last four fights. Against Brady, he added to this unwanted stat, being taken down a further five times. What didn’t help Rocky was that he showed some dreadful fight IQ in the third round shooting for a very lazy takedown, despite being dominated in the second round on the ground.
Seriously LOW IQ from Leon shooting from a takedown then. That could go down as an all timer of low IQ moments. What in the world was he thinking??? #UFCLondon
— Frazer Krohn (@frazerkrohnMMA) March 22, 2025
Media members inside the O2 Arena noted how fans were heading for the door after three rounds, despite the fight being scheduled for five.
Fans are heading for the exits after three rounds of the main event. #UFCLondon
— Nick Peet (@Peety_Editor) March 22, 2025
Whilst Edwards put in a career-worst performance, credit must be given to Philly’s own, Sean Brady. He put in a phenomenal performance, dominated the fight and didn’t give Edwards a chance in the cage on Saturday night. Was it entertaining? Absolutely not. His wrestling-heavy style isn’t fan-friendly. It’s heavy pressure, position over submission and very low action. Birmingham’s own, Edwards did very little in the octagon at UFC London, didn’t mount any kind of offence and appeared to be fighting not to lose, rather than fighting to win.
Other Lowlights
Other lowlights include Guram Kutateladze ruining many people’s betting slips, losing a one-sided decision. A -380 favourite with Khamzat Chimaev and the Topuria brothers in his corner, Kutateladze was thoroughly battered across 15 minutes.
Lone’er Kavanagh was one of the few English fighters to get a win on the card, but due to circumstances within the fight, had to put in a safety first performance after a tough first round. The Londoner suffered a bad cut to the head, forcing him to wrestle for large periods of the second and third rounds. With that being said, it wasn’t a bad fight at all and Kavanaugh progressed to 2-0 in the UFC.
Nathaniel Wood put on a clinic, however, questions are being asked after yet another impressive win. The Prospect dominated the fight, dropping Morgan Charriere in the first round. With that being said, everyone wanted to see Wood put his foot down in the fight and search for the finish. He hasn’t finished a fight since 2019 but consistently puts on entertaining fights. What we need now for Wood is a top 15 opponent where he can really shine.
Carlos Ulberg and Jan Blachowicz put in 15 minutes to forget in the light heavyweight division. In what was essentially a battle of leg kicks, 82 combined to be precise, the two men fought for the full 15 minutes. A controversial decision? Maybe. But certainly forgettable.
Highlights
The highlights of the UFC London card shine due to the lacklustre performances from the majority on the card.
Shauna Bannon’s fight with Puja Tomar wasn’t entertaining… until it was. The first six minutes of the fight weren’t particularly entertaining, however, once Tomar landed the head kick and Bannon was able to survive (just), the fight came alive. Bannon was able to lock in the armbar for a come-from-behind victory and secured a $50K bonus.
Alexia Thainara’s performance, ring walk and overall aura were certainly a highlight. Her ring walk likely took more time than the fight itself, finishing things in the first round. The UFC have a star on their hands and she kicked off her UFC career with a $50K bonus, against a home fighter, on short notice. Nice work, Thainara.
The final highlight was the Gunnar Nelson vs Kevin Holland fight. Whilst it wasn’t a fight of the year contender, it certainly entertained. With fun exchanges on the feet, action on the ground and an entertaining way of avoiding a submission by Nelson, the fight provided the fans with something to cheer. Holland dropped Nelson and the Icelandic grappler almost locked in a submission late on. The fight went the full 15 minutes, but it was certainly entertaining.
No sport like MMA
#UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/xULuVj9Rk6
— Verdict (@VerdictMMA) March 22, 2025
When the UFC returns for the next UFC London card, it’s imperative that they stack it with talent. There can’t be another un-inspiring card in England’s capital or time may be running out for British MMA fans to see the octagon across the pond.
