MMA news: Sean Brady talks short-notice main event against Leon Edwards

Sean Brady is stepping up on short notice to headline UFC London against former welterweight champion Leon Edwards after Jack Della Maddalena was pulled from the card.

Here, Sports News Blitz MMA expert Niall Togher breaks down the unexpected matchup and what it means for the division.

Chaos in the welterweight division

Last week Dana White revealed on his Instagram Live that there would be a game of musical chairs regarding future matchups in the UFC’s welterweight division.

It was expected that the UFC welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad, would be defending his belt against Shavkat Rakhmonov, however, this is not the case.

Australian Maddalena, who was initially set to fight Edwards at UFC London in March, has been given the title shot and will headline UFC 315 in Montreal alongside Muhammad in May.

Initially, this seemed to leave Edwards without an opponent to headline the UFC London card against.

However, it was also announced on the same live stream that the number 5 ranked welterweight contender Brady would be stepping in to face Edwards.

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Brady embraces the challenge

In a recent appearance on Michael Bisping’s podcast ‘Believe You Me’, Brady revealed the unique circumstances surrounding him before he received the call to fight Edwards.

“We had the baby Sunday of the Superbowl, 6:12 is when she comes, 18 minutes before kick-off.

“We get out of the hospital on Tuesday, and my manager calls and says ‘Hey, call me back’. So, I called him, and he said, ‘Jack’s out.’

“We didn’t know at that time that he was getting pulled to fight Belal or anything like that, I just thought he was hurt.

“I was walking my dog, so I had to go home and talk to my wife. If she’s cool with taking over the duties for the baby for the next five weeks, then I’m f***ing in!

“I called all my coaches first and I kind of had a feeling something like this was going to happen.

“So I’ve been doing all my five rounds in sparring, I’ve been doing all of my five rounds on the bike and ever since I had the main event with Gilbert [Burns], that’s kind of how I’ve been training regardless,” Brady said.

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‘I got what I asked for’

A statement win over the former champion in London could be exactly what Brady needs to secure his title shot and he could be in line next for the winner of the main event in Montreal at UFC 315.

For Edwards, this change in opponent is arguably a harder stylistic matchup.

Della Maddalena is primarily a striker who gained many plaudits for his slick boxing.

Brady, however, has a more grappling-heavy style that more accurately mirrors Belal Muhammad, who had large amounts of success in the grappling department at UFC 304 when he beat Edwards to win the title.

Brady feels this is something that will serve him well ahead of the fight in March.

“If you go look at the way he [Belal Muhammad] fought him [Leon Edwards], that’s typically the way I fight. So, it’s definitely a good roadmap.

“I’m sure Leon’s going to know that but for him, I took this fight on 5 weeks notice.

“He’s going from fighting a southpaw, predominately striker/boxer in Jack Della to fighting an orthodox grappler, so things changed up a lot for him as well.

“I was calling for this fight a while ago. I’m like ‘This is the fight I want.’

“I was going on every show saying I wanted it. After my grappling match I was asking for it. Didn’t happen but in the end, I got what I asked for,” Brady said.

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