Leon Edwards turned into a meme after his UFC 304 title loss to Belal Muhammad last year. Not because he failed to defend his crown but because of how some interactions between the duo happened before the bout. Remember the elevator incident where the 170-pounders were locked with each other? This was when the Englishman mocked Muhammad by voicing out his catchphrase “Remember The Name” in sarcasm. Well, the tables turned completely after all was set and done.
‘Bully B’ lived up to his nickname and bullied ‘Rocky’ for almost the entirety of the five rounds. Pictures of Edwards looking listlessly off to the distance as Muhammad has him in his clutches or him being tossed on his head by the man he mocked went viral after the fight. This was also the theme when the former champ failed to bounce back at UFC London against Sean Brady on Saturday. As it went down, the Brit looked hapless as Brady toyed with him on the ground and went on to submit him in the fourth round.
And according to former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, both Muhammad and Brady actually cracked the code on how to beat Edwards. “Leon Edwards is so good if you give him the space to work his magic if you play in that mid-range where he’ll keep you all week and take advantage of you. Brady did so well out of the gate, working on kicks when he was at a distance and then, like, pushing into that space, pushing Edwards back and just walking him down, you know. Like making it awkward, making it a dog fight. Which is, like, it’s Leon Edwards’ kryptonite is dog fights,” Whittaker said on the ‘MMArcade Podcast’.
MMA: UFC 278- Usman vs Edwards, Aug 20, 2022, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA Leon Edwards blue gloves leaves the arena after defeating Kamaru Usman red gloves during UFC 278 at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports, 20.08.2022 23:05:08, 18906012, NPStrans, Kamaru Usman, MMA PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJeffreyxSwingerx 18906012
As Whittaker pointed out, ‘Rocky’ does not like to get into firefights on the feet despite being one of the best strikers in the division. The former champ is a very careful and deliberate striker, who likes to pick his spots and looks to land precise and accurate shots on his opponents rather than overwhelm them with volume or pressure.
And Sean Brady, who became the first man to finish the former champ in his entire MMA career, actually confirmed Whittaker’s take and revealed the exact moment he ‘broke’ Leon Edwards.
Sean Brady weighs in on the moment that helped him win against Leon Edwards
“Leon’s a very technical fighter, but when you make it a real hard fight, he tends to break, and I could see he was breaking… And I knew he broke once he shot on me because that’s the last place he wanted to be… So once I knew he wanted to grapple with me, I knew it was going to be over soon… Once they start going off his terms, he does dumb s–t like shoot on me, and then it goes downhill from there,” Brady told reporters after UFC London.
Edwards, the pure striker, tried to take down Brady in the third round for some strange reason. ‘Rocky’ was finding his groove, landing some good sharp shots on the American grappler when he decided to disastrously take Brady to the ground. That proved to be the beginning of the end for Edwards since Brady didn’t let him get up after that and went on to submit him in the fourth.
Exactly why ‘Rocky’ did so remains unclear. But according to the Philly native, this was because he had broken the Englishman’s spirit to the point that he just wasn’t thinking straight. And Brady, who was elated with his win, seemed almost disappointed at how little fight the Birmingham resident showed, especially since he was on home turf.
“I dominated Leon, won every round. Nobody’s ever did it like me and then I submitted him and made him quit in front of his hometown. If we were in Philly you ain’t making me quit in front of my home town I’m telling you that. I’m going to sleep, son. So just remember that,” Brady declared after the fight. What do you think about Robert Whittaker’s take on Leon Edwards’ ‘kryptonite’?
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