UFC London: Sean Brady upsets Leon Edwards with dominant display

Sean Brady defeated Leon Edwards in their welterweight bout at UFC London, securing a dominant victory by submitting the British fighter with a guillotine choke in the fourth round. Throughout the match, Brady, the 32-year-old American, maintained an advantage in ground grappling, ultimately ending the fight with the decisive submission.

For Edwards, 33, this marks his second consecutive loss, having previously surrendered his welterweight title to Belal Muhammad in July. After the fight, Brady stated, "I literally got out of the hospital after my wife had our newborn child to take this fight. I knew I could do it, and I think I absolutely deserve to be in the top three." He further added, "Dana (White) gave me an awesome opportunity to come here. I love the UK fans, I'm sorry I had to do that to your guy, but I have a lot of respect for him."

Brady stepped in as a late replacement for Australian fighter Jack Della Maddalena, who was originally scheduled to face Edwards. Della Maddalena will now compete for the title against Muhammad at UFC 315 on May 10th. Leading up to the fight, there was minimal interaction between Edwards and Brady, with Edwards primarily focused on reclaiming his championship title. Edwards had stated that he "owed the UK fans a KO victory" after losing to Muhammad in July, but he failed to assert his dominance in this match.

Despite a promising start, Edwards struggled to find his rhythm during the fight, while Brady executed a clear tactical plan. Edwards spent much of his fight against Muhammad in a defensive posture, and history repeated itself against Brady. Brady's pressure was so intense that discontent began to spread through the audience, with some fans starting to leave the arena after the third round. Before the fourth round, Brady's coach told him "(Edwards) is broken," and Brady seized the opportunity, taking the fight to the ground once more and successfully applying the guillotine choke submission.

As Brady celebrated his victory, Edwards lay dejected on the ground, his hands covering his face. Brady added, "I heard all week that I was too short. I'm not short for welterweight, I was 190lbs in the back getting weighed. I'm just short, it's fine." This victory marks Brady's third consecutive win, propelling him into title contention, while Edwards' dream of becoming the UK's first two-time UFC champion fades further. After a 12-fight undefeated streak and aspirations of breaking Georges St-Pierre's record of nine welterweight title defenses, Edwards has now suffered two consecutive defeats.

Edwards expressed his desire to reclaim the title this week, but his loss at the O2 Arena means he slips further down the rankings in the competitive welterweight division. Brady, Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Della Maddalena are all ahead of him in the title chase, while contenders like Ian Machado Garry and Joaquin Buckley are also vying for contention. A potential opponent for Edwards could be Ireland's Machado Garry, who is ranked seventh in the welterweight division, which would be an intriguing option. Machado Garry has won his eight UFC fights, but lost his chance to be the number one contender after losing to Rakhmonov last year. Another possible opponent is British fighter Michael "Venom" Page, who has previously called for a fight with Edwards.