In retrospect, if UFC 304 was geared toward being a kind of hero’s homecoming for Birmingham’s own Leon Edwards, Saturday’s return to England feels like it could be a sendoff. A fight with Sean Brady is such a thankless task after losing his title that it borders on cruelty. It’s like a meeting with the taxman as a dedicated 1099; all the fun of the 13-fight unbeaten spree and that two-year run as the welterweight champion comes with a heavy toll.
That toll is Brady, a relatively unsung late replacement out of Philly, who is perfectly suited in the role of spoiler.
As far as switcheroos go, this is a harsh one. In Brady’s past couple of fights against Gilbert Burns and Kelvin Gastelum, he’s scored a dozen takedowns which he’s parlayed into 20 minutes of control time. He siphons the soul out of his opponents after planting them into the soft earth, a sadistic nullifier who gets off on hearing the boos rain down on him. Or at least he will, should he hear them in London. Boos will mean that he’s having his way. (And at £350 for the cheapest ticket, wrestlers might require police escorts to get out of the O2 Arena.)
Of course, all of this is why you have to give Edwards his kudos for not hesitating to accept the situation as it stands.
He was supposed to face Jack Della Maddalena on Saturday, which was at least a more favorable matchup for a recently vanquished champion trying to stay in orbit of the title. But UFC plucked “JDM” from the pairing in late February and thrust him into a title shot against Belal Muhammad, the man who made breakfast in Manchester a depressing affair this past July by taking Edwards’ belt.
That’s a bit of a double slap in the face for the former champ when you think about it. Seeing “JDM” leapfrog to Belal, while Leon gets left with Brady. You can understand why Edwards seems a bit defensive when pointing out the spiral of events that led to his back being against the wall.
He aired it all out on “The Ariel Helwani Show” on Monday, saying that walking out around 5 a.m. at UFC 304 was against the will of his body and mind. He said his body never fully woke up, and that he could never quite get going against Muhammad. His reactions were slower. The punches weren’t in sync with his mind’s commands. His movement was generally was bogged down by the drowse of the hour. Throw in the fact that he was banged up with back and hip issues, and it all added up to a unanimous decision loss.
It was, undeniably, the most listless showing of his career.
I know, I know — excuses are the red flags of the fallen. But MMA is full of them, and proud champions can be afforded a little context. It’s hard to question Edwards’ heart after all he’s done in his career. From his rough upbringing to 2022’s Knockout of the Year to win the title against Kamaru Usman, his mettle has never been in question. At least Saturday’s main card will kick off at a far holier hour, starting at 9 p.m. in London. That means Edwards will likely make the walk before or right around midnight locally.
When he does make that walk, it’ll be to a partisan crowd who doesn’t want the ride to end. Not that long ago we were talking about the golden era of MMA in the United Kingdom, and a big reason for that was because of Edwards, who pulled off one of the greatest upsets in UFC history against Usman. He represented something of the lifeblood of working-class England. The outpouring from British fans after he won the welterweight title was so incredibly personal that it felt like a shared achievement. That through Edwards, blue-collar Birmingham could live vicariously as a champion.
The UFC isn’t built on such romantic notions. It is built on finding the fighter who will beat you. It is built on fresh narratives and mean realities. In that way, Edwards — who is only 33 years old — is being tasked with not letting the game move on from him and his story. With Tom Aspinall in purgatory as he waits out Jon Jones to unify the heavyweight title, Edwards is trying to keep U.K. wave strong.
Bad matchup against a determined wrestler like Brady? Cue the sniper. It’s not Brady coming to ruin the party in England. It’s Edwards coming to ruin the intention.
The truth is, Edwards has shown that he won’t succumb easily. He has solid takedown defense. He has been through singlet-minded challenges before. He’s persevered through whatever the UFC has thrown at him, including a 10-fight unbeaten streak just to get a title shot at all. He has been looked past, discounted and cast aside for much of his career, and yet this is what has defined him as a success. You can’t keep a good man down.
And for the first time in nearly 10 years, UFC London is all about what Leon Edwards looks like when he gets back up.
