“He talks about how he’s always fighting grapplers, but he doesn’t do great against them either.” Sean Brady said it before the fight, and then he went out there and proved it in the most brutal way possible. Leon Edwards, once the undisputed welterweight king, had no answer for Brady’s relentless pressure at UFC London. He was out-wrestled, out-worked, and, for the first time in his career, submitted. And not just anywhere. Right in front of his home crowd at The O2 Arena. Talk about a nightmare scenario.
“I dominated Leon every round. No one’s ever did it like me,” Brady said at the post-fight presser, barely breaking a sweat. “And I submitted him and made him quit in front of his hometown. If we are in Philly, you ain’t making me quit in front of my hometown. I’ll tell you that. I’m going to sleep son. So yeah just remember that.” That’s got to sting.
“I made him quit in front of his home town”
Sean Brady reflects on a career best performance over Leon Edwards #UFCLondon #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/LLB01lMOMC
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) March 23, 2025
Brady didn’t just beat Edwards; he erased all doubt. From the opening bell, he imposed his will, smothering the former champ with his grappling. The fourth-round guillotine choke? That was the cherry on top, sealing Edwards’ first-ever submission loss. It wasn’t just a win, it was a mic-drop moment. A message to the entire division that he’s not just here to compete, he’s here to take over.
And if you ask Brady, this wasn’t just about taking down ‘Rocky’, it was about staking his claim as the next rightful challenger for UFC gold. “You tell me, is it a statement coming in here and beating Leon in his hometown?” he asked, flashing a knowing grin. “I just dominated Gilbert Burns, I just dominated Leon Edwards, so I think I’m right there.”
So, Brady’s win over Gilbert Burns? Yeah, that was no fluke. He completely shut down the Brazilian veteran, smothering him with relentless top control and making sure Burns’ world-class jiu-jitsu never even got a chance to shine. Then, against Edwards, he leveled up. He didn’t just control the former champ, he broke him down round by round, leaving no doubt who the better fighter was. Three back-to-back dominant wins over elite contenders? If that’s not a title-shot-worthy run, what is? But of course, one man was watching all of this unfold with a smug grin. The current welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.
How did the champ react to Sean Brady’s statement win?
If there’s one thing Belal Muhammad does better than fight, it’s tweet. And as Brady was systematically dismantling Edwards, Muhammad was live-commentating the whole thing, taking every opportunity to remind everyone, including Edwards himself, that he’d been there, done that.
“What time is it in London? Asking for Leon,” Muhammad quipped, throwing a playful jab at Edwards’ past excuses about time zones messing up his UFC 304 performance. And then came the real dagger, “Sean copied my homework.” Got to give it to Belal, his timing is impeccable.
And there’s a reason Muhammad’s feeling himself right now. He’s not just the champ. He’s also the guy who handed Brady his only career loss. Back in 2022, Muhammad shocked many by knocking Brady out, exposing holes in his game that few had seen before. But two years is a long time in MMA, and Brady has clearly patched those up, racking up three dominant wins since. And now, with Brady likely cementing himself as the No. 1 contender, the division just got really spicy. Muhammad is set to defend his belt against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315, but if he gets past that and Shavkat Rakhmonov, a rematch with Brady is pretty much inevitable.
So, if they run it back, does Sean Brady get his revenge, or does Belal prove that history repeats itself? Either way, there won’t be a shortage of Twitter material. What’s your verdict for UFC 315? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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