Sean Brady dominated Leon Edwards to earn a fourth-round submission victory at UFC London.
Brady never give Edwards the chance to fight his own game and the majority of the main event bout was spent on the canvas.
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Edwards, a former champion, was insistent on fighting for the UFC welterweight title again this year after losing it to Belal Muhammad in 2024.
But those dreams have been crushed after his latest defeat – the first stoppage loss of his 28-fight career.
The referee called a stop to the contest at 1:39 seconds of round number due to a vicious guillotine choke from Brady.
“I know I can do that against anyone in the division,” Brady told Michael Bisping in his post-octagon interview.
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“I just showed I can do that against a prestigious champion. I think I definitely belong here.”
‘Rocky, Rocky’ echoed around the O2 Arena as UFC London’s main event got underway.
The first round remained largely inactive with Brady catching Edwards briefly and taking him to the canvas in the final seconds, the only significant moments.
Brady shot for a takedown instantly as the second five minutes of the fight commenced, and he was successful in controlling his British counterpart on the floor, looking to earn those crucial points on the judges scorecards.
Edwards struggled on the canvas and his attempts to shake off Brady were consistently denied.
The American had Edwards pressed on the ground for all but a few seconds of round two, meaning he was far and clear ahead going into the third.
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Edwards was cautious of a second round repeat as he stuffed Brady’s first attempt to take him down 30 seconds into round three.
However, Brady was successful in his second attempt and we were in the same position all over again.
Edwards was then on the receiving end of thunderous right hands from Brady as he, yet again, struggled to get back to his feet.
The crowd continued to boo which only meant one thing – Brady was winning the round again.
Edwards was left helpless in the final 30 seconds of round three as Brady climbed all over him like a rash and continued to punish ‘Rocky’ on the canvas.
As we entered the championship rounds, it was turning into a domination as Brady dragged Edwards to the floor and exhausted his opponent on the ground.
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Moments later, Brady wrapped his arm around the neck of Edwards, who didn’t take long to tap out.
UFC London was attended by 18,583 fans with a gate of $4.17million, which is the highest grossing Fight Night event in UFC history.
Brady was awarded a $50,000 bonus for his performance on the London card.
Ahead of UFC London, Brady had asserted that his fight with Edwards was the ‘biggest of his life.’
So the 32-year-old will certainly be on a high as he travels back to Philadelphia knowing his first UFC title shot could come soon.
The No.5 ranked UFC welterweight has lost just once in White’s promotion since making his debut in 2019.
That defeat came at the hands of the current champion at 170lbs Belal Muhammad, who Brady could face next if the former defends his belt against Jack Della Maddalena in May.
That will only come if the injured Shavkat Rakhmonov remains sidelined, but if he returns, Brady could find himself in a No.1 contender bout with the loser of that fight to decide the next title in line at 170lbs.
Brady went undefeated in his first five UFC bouts before losing to Muhammad.
The Philly native holds wins over Kevin Gastelum and Michael Chiesa, and his last UFC fight was a victory over former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns.
Brady also holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is a former Cage Fury Fighting Championships welterweight champion.
The 32-year-old started training MMA after a friend convinced him and his brother to try out BJJ.
He was involved in the family construction business as a youth and looks up to fighters like ex-UFC champion Georges St-Pierre as a role model for how he wants his career to go.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
