UFC Fight Night: Leon Edwards vs Sean Brady

The former Middleweight champion Lean Edwards returns to London, but this time to headline a Fight Night card. Opposite him will be esteemed grappler and BJJ black belt Sean Brady. Philadelphia’s own Brady has been able to steamroll the lower-ranked competition but has had trouble when going up in class, which we have seen in the Belal Muhammad fight where he was outmatched and outpaced.

Edwards returns after losing his title to Belal, and this is his attempt to show the world that he is more than capable of holding the belt again. Originally, the main event was going to be Edwards vs Della Maddalena. But instead of a striking delight, we are getting a classic puncher vs grappler contest, and we all know how those usually end up.

Lean Edwards Record (22-4-1)

Before winning the title, Lead Edwards was on a 10-fight undefeated run. It was a ruthless campaign that finally saw him contend for the title against none other than Kamaru Usman. We all remember how that went, Rocky was pummeled and beaten all five rounds until a kick from hell earned him the Middleweight title.

But Lean showed that he was a worthy champion. He defended his title twice, extending his unbeaten run to 13 fights. In a rematch against Kamaru Usman he showed that the kick was not a fluke as he outworked Kamaru, while he mostly did the same in a grudge match versus Colby Covington.

Unfortunately, his reign came to an end when he faced Belal Muhammad. This was their second fight, as the first ended with a no-contest due to Belal’s eye injury. Muhammad showed all of his wrestling credentials in that fight, dragging, outworking, and pummeling Edwards during the entire fight.

Edwards is on a campaign to earn himself a new title challenge. Facing a fierce grappler is not ideal for him, but he has been successful against those in the past. We’ll see if his take-down defense holds up and if he can perhaps earn himself a spectacular finish.

Sean Brady Record (17-1)

Brady was undefeated in his MMA career until he met Belal Muhammad. The fight ended in the second round as Belal’s heavy pace earned him a TKO victory. A jump in the competition was something that Brady was campaigning for, but it ended up backfiring on him.

Before the Belal fight, Brady didn’t really have so many first-class competitions against him. The biggest names that he managed to defeat were Jake Matthews and Michael Chiesa. While both are UFC veterans, they still can’t hold the candle to the upper echelon of the Middleweight division. 

After the defeat against Belal, Sean got back to his winning ways and defeated the likes of Kelvin Gastelum via armbar submission and Gilbert Burns in a unanimous decision win. Those are big names, but both have seen their best days behind them.

Brady is a beast on the ground. He is not hiding that his game is to bring Leon to the ground and exploit his weakness. If he can do that, he can perhaps easily earn a submission victory. 

Edwards vs Brady Prediction

As we already said, this is a grappler vs striker matchup and whichever of the two imposes his game, they will be on the road to victory. Edwards is a much better striker, miles in front of Brady. He can kick and punch and move with stunning fluidity. He didn’t earn the nickname Rocky for nothing. He is going to set his strikes, try to pick Brady apart and do so for all five rounds if needed.

Brady doesn’t have a good standup. In fact, I wonder how other fighters didn’t exploit this weakness more. If Lean manages to keep the fight on the feet, then there is nothing Brady can do. But, if he manages to replicate what Belal did to Edwards, he can hope to earn himself a win. 

As far as my opinion goes on this, I think that Rocky is a more experienced fighter. He is not going to go down again in front of his home fans. Lean has more five-round fights under his belt and a bigger gas tank. So Rocky, by decision, in my opinion. 

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