Brady stepped in on short notice to take on Edwards after the Brit’s original opponent, Jack Della Maddalena, was drafted into a title fight later this summer.
And, with the opportunity to claim a big win against a former champion, Brady delivered in spectacular fashion as he repeatedly took Edwards to the mat and chased a host of different submissions during the bout.
It meant that the fight was spent mostly on the mat, with Brady pushing hard for the win and Edwards desperately trying to fend him off.
After his victory, Brady said that he’ll let the UFC brass make the decisions on what he’ll do next, but after a performance of such dominance, a title shot might not be too far away.
Ulberg edges Blachowicz to move towards title contention
New Zealand’s Carlos Ulberg had to stay patient and go the distance, but he did enough to edge past former UFC light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz and nudge himself closer to championship contention at 205 pounds.
In a fight that stayed in the striking realm, Ulberg’s more eye-catching strikes prevailed against Blachowicz’s work as he earned scores of 29-28 on all three of the judges’ scorecards.
The victory wasn’t the attention-grabbing performance that Ulberg might have hoped for, but the addition of a former world champion to his list of victims will certainly help his case as he looks to position himself for a crack at the 205-pound title.
Holland outpoints Nelson in welterweight crowd-pleaser
The main card also saw a superb welterweight bout between the returning Icelandic submission ace Gunnar Nelson and America’s Kevin Holland.
A crazy opening round saw Holland trap Nelson’s arm in an omoplata, only for Nelson to casually pick him up on the floor.
Then, after a sustained period of grappling and scrambling on the mat, the fight returned to the feet and Holland decked the Icelander with a huge shot, then nearly finished him with follow-up strikes as Nelson was saved by the buzzer.
The second round saw Holland push the pace aggressively as he looked to take advantage of a still-hurt Nelson, but as the round wore on, “Gunni” used his grappling to take control of the action, though Holland’s defensive grappling skills ensured he stayed out of danger.
It meant the bout went into the final round, and the pair battled back and forth all the way to the final horn, after which Holland was declared the dunner with scores of 29-28 on all three cards.
Brazilian debutant shines, while a UK MMA star bows out
English women’s MMA star Molly McCann bowed out of the UFC after she was submitted in the first round by Brazilian debutant Alexia Thainara.
Thainara, who had taken the fight on just one week’s notice, danced her way to the Octagon and produced a flawless performance to submit McCann with a rear-naked choke to get her UFC career off to a flying start.
But, while the fight saw the beginning of a promising UFC career for one fighter, it also marked the end of the road for another, as McCann removed her gloves and embraced Octagon announced Bruce Buffer before confirming her retirement.
Scotland defeats England as Duncan submits Vucenic
Scottish lightweight Chris Duncan produced an outstanding performance to submit former Cage Warriors featherweight champion Jordan Vucenic and claim back-to-back victories in the Octagon.
A big shot from Duncan dropped Vucenic early, and the Scot quickly snatched up a guillotine choke and looked to have Vucenic in big trouble.
Vucenic stayed calm and eventually managed to escape, but Duncan continued to dominate through the remainder of the round as he kept the action on the ground, with the Englishman’s back on the mat.
Vucenic started to find some success with his striking, but after catching a Duncan kick, he made a crucial error. After backing Duncan up to the cage, Vucenic opted to change levels for a double-leg takedown. But, as he dropped down he was immediately caught in another guillotine choke.
This time, there was no escape for “The Epidemic” who was forced to tap as he fell to his second win since joining the UFC. For Duncan, meanwhile, it was his second win on the spin, with both victories coming via guillotine choke.
London’s Wood shines on home soil
The main card opened with an excellent all-European featherweght battle as England’s Nathaniel Wood defeated French star Morgan Charriere by unanimous decision.
Wood’s speed and sharpness proved to be too much for Charriere throughout the fight, with “The Prospect” connecting with a huge straight right that dropped Charriere hard in the first round.
The Frenchman did well to avoid further punishment on the ground and stay in the fight, but Wood stayed in control throughout the contest as he used his speed, timing and reflexes to pick Charriere apart through the full 15-minute duration to earn scores of 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 for a shutout victory.
Preliminary card recap
On a busy night for the judges, the preliminary card saw six of the seven fights go to the scorecards.
English flyweight prospect Lone’er Kavanagh was arguably the outstanding performer on the prelims as he went back and forth with Brazil’s Felipe Dos Santos for three thrilling rounds to earn a unaninous decision victory.
There were also wins for American lightweight Chris Padilla and Polish heavyweight Marcin Tybura, who defeated English opposition in the form of Jai Herbert and Mick Parkin, respectively.
There lone finish on the prelims saw an incredible come-from-behind win for Ireland’s Shauna Bannon, who was dropped with a head kick and looked close to being finished by India’s Puja Tomar.
But Bannon showed remarkable powers of recovery as she turned the tables on Tomar on the mat and locked up an armbar to claim a crowd-pleasing submission victory.
COMEBACK COMPLETE 🤯@ShaunaBannon5 gets the armbar submission at #UFCLondon! pic.twitter.com/yvClc3NCAq
— UFC (@ufc) March 22, 2025
UFC London: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Sean Brady def. Leon Edwards via submission (mounted guillotine choke) – Round 4, 1:39
- Carlos Ulberg def. Jan Blachowicz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Kevin Holland def. Gunnar Nelson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Alexia Thainara def. Molly McCann via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:32
- Chris Duncan def. Jordan Vucenic via submission (guillotine choke) Round 2, 3:42
- Nathaniel Wood def. Morgan Charriere via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Chris Padilla def. Jai Herbert via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Lone’er Kavanagh def. Felipe Dos Santos (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Marcin Tybura def. Mick Parkin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Christian Leroy Duncan def. Andrey Pulayev via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Shauna Bannon def. Puja Tomar via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 3:22
- Caolan Loughran def. Nathan Fletcher via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Guram Kutateladze def. Kaue Fernandes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
