Athletes
Leon Edwards | It's Payback Time
Former UFC Welterweight Champion Isn't Happy With How He Lost His Belt, And Plans On Making It Up To His UK Fans As He Bids To Kickstart His Run Back To The Title
Leon Edwards is back in the UK, and ready to put things right as he looks to win his way back into championship contention once again.
The former undisputed UFC welterweight champion lost his title to Belal Muhammad in the early hours of the morning at UFC 304 in Manchester last October. Now he returns to the UK to headline at The O2 Arena, and he's determined to right the wrongs of his last performance.
UFC LONDON FREE FIGHTS: Edwards vs Covington | Brady vs Burns
Edwards has gone on record to explain that his uncharacteristically sluggish performance at the Co-Op Live was largely down to him having to fight at 5am on home soil. Now he wants to give the UK fans reason to cheer again as he returns to action against Sean Brady.
"This gives me an opportunity to give back to the UK," Edwards told UFC.com ahead of his main event return in London this weekend.
"My body's feeling good, mentally, I'm good. I'm excited to go out and perform for the fans."
After having to take the long road to get his shot at the UFC's undisputed welterweight crown, Edwards admitted that he needed some time to process the disappointment of losing his belt.
MORE: Leon Edwards Fight Week Interview
"I just let it sit with me for a little bit," he said. "I hadn't lost a fight for almost 10 years. Even though it was a close fight – he won three rounds, I won two rounds – just everything, the circumstances around the fight and everything within the fight, I just let it sit with me a little bit. I gathered my thoughts with my team, and just regrouped. I'm back now, in good spirits and ready to go again.
"I just didn't feel myself in there. I was fighting at 5am in the morning. Went into the fight with injuries. It was difficult to take good or bad away from the fight. Obviously, I lost the fight, obviously there's stuff I could have done better, technically, to win the fight.
"I've went over it with my team, spoke over it, drilled it, so I know where I went wrong, but it's more about just the way the fight played out. It was crazy."
In an ideal world, Edwards would have loved the opportunity to rematch Muhammad in his next outing, and when Shavkat Rakhmonov was ruled out of a title fight with the new champion, the door seemed to be open for that outcome.
Full UFC London Fight Card Preview
But, with Edwards already booked to headline on home soil, the UFC opted to switch out his originally scheduled opponent, Jack Della Maddalena, for the title shot, while Edwards remained in the headline spot in London against replacement opponent Brady.
Some fighters might have been upset at the loss of a possible title opportunity, but Edwards was philosophical about the situation, and admitted that he understands the UFC's predicament and why he needed to stay put on the London card.
"I kind of feel like I'm a veteran in the UFC now," he said.
"Obviously, I would have loved the opportunity of a rematch with Belal, especially for the circumstances that I fought him in Manchester.
MORE UFC LONDON: Fight By Fight Preview | Brady's Journey To London
"But I also understand that the UFC kind of built London around me. If you take me off the card and leave Jack on it to fight Sean, it just wouldn't sell as well, because it doesn't make sense for the UK crowd to go watch an Australian and American guy fight for the spot.
"So I understand it in that sense, but I also feel I deserve the rematch with Belal. But that'll come after this fight."
Leon Edwards vs Sean Brady | UFC Journey
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Leon Edwards vs Sean Brady | UFC Journey
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Edwards has had to pivot his gameplan somewhat, with the former champion previously getting ready for a fight with a noted striker, only to have to now make sure he's ready for a mat wrestler and submission artist.
Despite the change in opponent, and the change in style, Edwards said that the switch isn't as big an issue as it could have been, given his slate of recent opponents.
Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, and Muhammad all bring strong wrestling to the Octagon and, as such, Edwards has spent the best part of five years prepping for that style of opponent.
That prep, he said, will stand him in good stead against Brady.
"Yeah, (they're) two different opponents. Jack was more of a southpaw striker. Sean Brady's a five-foot-nine wrestler.
"It's a style I'm kind of used to from the last four or five fights.
"If you had to pick a scenario to go into a fight on short notice, it'll be coming off five years of camp for these four fights I had with these people.
"So, it was easier to prepare for. I already had the people in play that I needed to call on short notice to get in camp and just break him down and go from there."
Edwards has his sights firmly set on a shot at the title he lost last year, and said he's been told that he'll be next up for a title fight if he defeats Brady this weekend.
With a clear path now plotted back to the top, "Rocky" plans on beginning his redemption story as he kickstarts his run towards becoming a two-time UFC world champion.
"I can see just a new version of Leon Edwards, going out there, performing to the best of my abilities, and showing the world just how good I am," he said.
"It's not about Sean or whoever the opponent's gonna be. It's more about me. It's more about me righting the wrongs from my last fight, and me just giving back to the UK.
"Everyone stayed up to five o'clock in the morning to watch a boring decision. It means I feel like it's me giving back to the UK, me performing and just showing the world."
UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Brady took place live from O2 Arena in London, England on March 22, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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