Leon Edwards ‘exposed’ for having terrible track record despite championship reign

Ahead of UFC London, Sean Brady doesn’t think Leon Edwards’ history with grappling-based UFC fighters is a strong talking point.

Leon Edwards ‘exposed’ for having terrible track record despite championship reign

Sean Brady bills Leon Edwards' history against grappling-based UFC contenders as weak sauce (Source: IMAGO/X)

Sean Brady doesn’t think Leon Edwards and his record against grappling opponents is as jazzy as it looks on paper. Brady recently had a first face-off with his rival ahead of their fight. A BJJ practitioner himself, he is thus keeping high hopes for rattling him with a grappling-based performance. The two meet at the return to UFC London at O2 Arena, in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 255 headliner.

Going into the fight, Leon Edwards’ most recent outings have been Belal Muhammad, Colby Covington, and Kamaru Usman (X2). On paper, he is 3-1 against those fighters with a very recent 170-pound title loss to Muhammad. Sean Brady, a Team Renzo Gracie Philly Jiu-jitsu artist thinks a tall and skinny ‘Rocky’ has clear holes in his game.

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You can’t prepare for something you’ve never felt before, …They see me like, ‘Oh, he looks strong.’ But until you feel me and you feel my grip and my squeeze and the pressure that I put on you is going to be different. Three out of four of those fights: He lost to Belal, I thought he lost the third fight against Kamaru, and he was losing to Kamaru, …until he landed the head kick. And the fight with Colby was horrible.

Sean Brady to MMAJunkie’s Mike Bohn

Brady, 32, bills it’s not the smartest way to go touting that he faces grapplers when clearly it’s not his strongest suit. His biggest “head-kick knockout” moment came at the last seconds in an ordeal he wasn’t clearly bagging in his favor. This is why the win over Usman was so momentous. While a snoozefest, Covington also gave him trouble in the clinch.

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Case in point, new welterweight champ Muhammad rag-dolled him, outworked him, and even spiked him during the UFC 304 PPV event headliner. So no wonder Edwards is hung up on that. Ahead of Fight Night, most of Edwards’ pre-fight interviews have done circles around the UFC 304 loss to “Bully Belal”.

The duo had the chance to measure up each other outside The O2 shot venue for the UFC London fight night. Brady said that it’s the shortest 4-second discourse of his life and there were no major takeaways to hinge a gameplan on. But it was ‘cool’ nonetheless. Unlike Edwards, though, Brady said that he has taken away from past flubs.

Sean Brady reflects on losing to Belal Muhammad at UFC 280 and how it changed him for UFC London return

UFC 170-pound standout contender Sean Brady knows the stage was too big for his scrap with now-champion Muhammad. But he had to do it anyway. A then-undefeated and slight odds-on fave per BetOnline.ag, Brady entered the foray against him at UFC 280 in October 2022.

UFC London headliner Sean Brady learned from his last loss
UFC London headliner Sean Brady learned from his last loss (Source: X)

The feature prelim clash was an all-important one as they were grazing past the chance to be top contenders. The American-Palestinian played spoiler with a second-round TKO, only one of his kind in a chain of decisions, thus ending Sean Brady’s momentum. However, the Philly-born fighter thinks the loss at such a big platform prepped him for what he is today and his UFC London assignment.

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Back in 2022 when I lost to Belal, I wasn’t ready for these big fights and these big moments, …The old Sean Brady had to die. I became a new version of myself — and then since becoming a dad, I feel like that’s became a different level of who I am.

Sean Brady on “The BradyBagz Show” for @steadypicks

Brady now feels the match has geared him up for more, and definitely Leon Edwards. He is fresh off a UFC Vegas 97 BJJ rite of passage with a Jiu-jitsu cohort, winning via unanimous decision (50-45, 49-46, 50-45). UFC Fight Night 255: Edwards vs. Brady from England marks his second-ever headliner spot.

He is 1-0 so far. Four of Brady’s seven UFC victories have come by way of decision. He thinks he can always take the matter to a hard scramble. If lucky, he can also put his power to the test against ‘skinny dude’ Leon Edwards, although the latter touts better range management and striking.

Related: ‘Skinny a**’ Leon Edwards gets WARNED by Jorge Masvidal ahead of return to UFC