Leon Edwards gets new opponent after Jack Della Maddalena withdraws from UFC London


Leon Edwards gets new opponent after Jack Della Maddalena withdraws from UFC London

'Rocky' is set to return to the Octagon as he looks to bounce back from a tough night at the office.

After producing one of the greatest win streaks in UFC history, Leon Edwards suffered his first loss since 2015 at UFC 304 in July.

The welterweight champion was dethroned in Manchester by Belal Muhammad who is yet to defend the title since his dominant victory.

Edwards' comeback fight was locked in for March where he would headline the O2 Arena in London against the #4-ranked Jack Della Maddalena.

The matchup certainly got fans excited for March 22 but there has now been some big changes at 170-pounds that were recently announced.

Via an Instagram live, Dana White announced that the new headliner for the UFC's return to London will be Leon Edwards taking on Sean Brady.

Jack Della Maddalena was withdrawn from the fight due to the UFC wanting to book Belal Muhammad in a title defense for the main event of UFC 315 in May.

With top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov unable to fight on May 10 in Canada due to an injury, Della Maddalena will take his place as he looks to extend his perfect 7-0 run in the UFC.

Meanwhile, Edwards will be facing the #5-ranked Brady who was the other name that was put forward as a potential opponent for the former champion before the 'JDM' fight was booked.

Following the first loss of his career to Muhammad in 2022, Brady has bounced back with consecutive wins over Kelvin Gastelum and Gilbert Burns.

White also officially announced the main and co-main event for UFC 315 along with a stacked UFC 314 card that features the likes of Alexander Volkanovski vs Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight title after Ilia Topuria vacated the belt.

A big reason that fight fans were so excited to see Leon Edwards vs Jack Della Maddalena was the striking skills of both men.

They're two of the best in the division whilst the fight stays standing but now 'Rocky' will need to prepare for a very different fight in just over a month.

Whilst Brady is no slouch on the feet, his grappling is his best skillset meaning that Edwards will likely be completely rethinking the final few weeks of his training camp.

It's a massive fight for both men with Brady having the chance to earn the biggest win of his career over a former champion whilst Edwards can show that he's still at the top of the division by becoming just the second man to defeat the 32-year-old contender.

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