Welterweight contender Sean Brady showed this weekend that he’s one of the division’s toughest names at the moment.
Brady asserted himself as one of the 170-pound division’s best fighters on Saturday night after an incredibly dominant performance over former champ Leon Edwards, submitting him in the fourth round of a main event bout.
The win for Brady, which emerged via guillotine choke, headlined a UFC “Fight Night” card from the O2 Arena in London, England on Saturday night.
This weekend offered a chance for England’s Edwards to bounce back from his 2024 welterweight title loss to Belal Muhammad and attain the highly important win in front of his home country supporters. But early in the fight, it became clear that the bout would instead be a showcase for fast-rising American star Brady, who pulled ahead on scorecards before finding an early exit route in the fourth round.
After a close opening round that saw Brady compete in a close stand-up exchange with Edwards before finishing the round with a takedown, the rest of the fight was a sweep for the Philaldephia-based talent.
Brady caught Edwards off-guard with a takedown to start the second round, setting him up for ground control which lasted nearly the full round length. He remained active while on top, trying for submissions like a kimura hold and chipping away at Edwards with ground and pound shots.
In what seemed like a major miscalculation, Edwards shot for a takedown early in the third round. Brady showcased his defensive wrestling skills in this moment, reversing the attempt into his own dominant position on the ground. Then, like he did in the frame before, kept control of Edwards until the clock expired.
Brady got Edwards down to start the fourth round of the fight, but this time he was rapidly closing in on a finish. Moving into a full mount position, Brady applied a guillotine choke which forced a stoppage to the bout.
“To be honest, I literally took this fight the day I got out of the hospital with my wife, with our newborn baby,” Brady said in his post-fight interview. “I knew this was the fight I could do that in. I know that I could do that against anyone in the division. I just showed that against one of the most prestigious champions as of recently. So, yeah I think I belong in the top three, top one for sure.”
There’s no doubt that Brady’s latest win puts him in the upper echelon at welterweight. He already entered this weekend ranked fifth, but should climb up even higher in the division following a win over first-ranked Edwards.
Brady has put together an impressive record of eight wins and one loss in the UFC, with that sole defeat coming against current champ Muhammad. Past wins have seen him go five rounds against Gilbert Burns, submit Kelvin Gastelum, and overcome veteran Jake Matthews.
The impressive performance from Brady on Saturday puts him closer than ever to a title shot. However, how long he may have to actually wait before that opportunity is scheduled for him is a tougher question to answer.
Current champ Muhammad is booked to meet fourth-ranked contender Jack Della Maddalena in a five-round title bout in May. After that, the question must be asked whether Brady would get a title opportunity over second-place Shavkat Rakhmonov, who withdrew from a booking against Muhammad last year due to injury and was passed on a title shot this year as he still wasn’t able to return yet.
The main event result was a tough pill to swallow for Edwards, who is now on the first-ever two-fight losing streak of his career. After holding the welterweight title for nearly two full years, 33-year-old Edwards has to regain some momentum before he can be discussed in the division’s championship picture again.
Earlier in the night, Carlos Ulberg continued his rise up the light heavyweight rankings with a competitive decision win over former champ Jan Blachowicz. Here are the quick results from Saturday’s card:
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 8:00PM GMT) (ESPN+)
Bout 13: Sean Brady def. Leon Edwards via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 4, 1:39)
Bout 12: Carlos Ulberg def. Jan Blachowicz via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 11: Kevin Holland def. Gunnar Nelson via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Alexia Thainara def. Molly McCann via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 4:32)
Bout 9: Chris Duncan def. Jordan Vucenic via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 2, 3:42)
Bout 8: Nathaniel Wood def. Morgan Charriere via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EDT / 5:00PM GMT) (ESPN+)
Bout 7: Chris Padilla def. Jai Herber via Decision, Split
Bout 6: Lone’er Kavanagh def. Felipe dos Santos via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Marcin Tybura def. Mick Parkin via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: Christian Leroy Duncan def. Andrey Pulyaev via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Shauna Bannon def. Puja Tomar via Submission, Armbar (RD 2, 3:22)
Bout 2: Caolan Loughran def. Nathan Fletcher via Decision, Split
Bout 1: Kaue Fernandes def. Guram Kutateladze via Decision, Unanimous
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