Leon Edwards faces Sean Brady in a must-win fight tonight, as the welterweights headline UFC London.
Edwards is competing for the first time since losing the division’s title to Belal Muhammad in July, when he was comprehensively outwrestled and outpointed in Manchester. Now the British-Jamaican fights on home soil again, and versus another wrestler as he takes on Brady.
The American steps in to face Edwards after the latter’s original opponent, Jack Della Maddalena, was pulled from UFC London and placed in a title fight with Muhammad. And Edwards, 33, believes he can set up a title shot against the winner of Muhammad vs Della Maddalena – which is scheduled for May – by beating Brady, 32.
Also in action at the O2 Arena are Liverpudlian star “Meatball”Molly McCann and London’s own Nathaniel Wood, while the co-main event pits Jan Blachowicz against Carlos Ulberg.
Follow live updates and results from the UFC London main card and prelims, below:
UFC London LIVE
Leon Edwards faces Sean Brady in must-win welterweight main eventHome favourite Edwards aims to bounce back from title loss last JulyBrady steps in for Jack Della Maddalena, who was drafted into upcoming title fight‘JDM’ challenges Belal Muhammad in May; Edwards or Brady could face winnerTonight’s co-main event pits Jan Blachowicz against Carlos Ulberg at 205lbBritish stars in action include ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann and Nathaniel Wood
UFC London LIVE: Shauna Bannon vs Puja Tomar
18:06 , Will Castle
Bruce Buffer introducing the fighters. We’ve got a very strong turnout here for so early in the prelims.
London never lets down.
UFC London LIVE: Shauna Bannon vs Puja Tomar
18:02 , Will Castle
To the strawweights as Shauna Bannon takes on Puja Tomar.
Tomar is on a five-fight win streak in MMA and poses a tough test for Ireland’s Bannon, who comes into this off the back of her first UFC win.
Walkouts underway.
UFC London LIVE: Nathan Fletcher vs Caolan Loughran
18:00 , Will Castle
Round three
Right hook and a one-two connect from Loughran before landing an early takedown. Fletcher flips out of it though and tries to take the chin. Nearly, but no luck.
Then Loughran has the back and its his turn to go for an rear-naked. Fletcher does well to move his right leg back and gets Loughran’s position off kilter. The Irishman falls off, but keeps Fletcher against the fence.
Then CHAOS breaks out in the clinch. Both start whaling on each other to finish the fight in style, with both getting rocked. We don’t get a Gaethje vs Holloway style finish, though, and we go to a decision.
Caolan Loughran def. Nathan Fletcher via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Not a warm reaction to that result from the crowd. Very tight call, but in no way a robbery.
UFC London LIVE: Nathan Fletcher vs Caolan Loughran
17:51 , Will Castle
Round two
This time it’s Fletcher who goes for the takedown. He gets Loughran against the fence as his coaches scream for him to knee him in the head. Fletcher obliges and gets the back.
There, he lands a constant stream of short-range punches to the Irishman’s skull, chipping away at his opponent. These get heavier and heavier before he goes to lock in an RNC – doesn’t quite get under the chin and Loughran finally escapes.
The pair finish the round on the feet, but not before Fletcher dodges a takedown and lands with a nice knee – few inches higher and he would’ve caught him head-on flush.
UFC London LIVE: Nathan Fletcher vs Caolan Loughran
17:45 , Will Castle
Round one
First decent shot of the fight goes Loughran’s way as he connects with an overhand right, but Fletcher responds with a two-one of his own. The scouser then goes on the offensive but gets caught up against the cage, with Loughran landing the takedown.
After time against the fence, the fight returns to the feet where Fletcher lands some reaction-evoking headshots. Loughran wants this on the ground and gets Fletcher to the mat, but his creative takedown leads to Fletcher taking mount, who ends the round by landing a flurry of ground strikes.
UFC London LIVE: Nathan Fletcher vs Caolan Loughran
17:34 , Will Castle
Next up, it’s Liverpool’s own Nathan Fletcher against Irish fighter Caolan Loughran.
The pair have already faced off outside of the UFC, with Next Gen’s Fletcher getting the win in that one. Loughran will be looking to level the score tonight.
Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett will have Fletcher’s back in what is the first of two fights for Next Gen – who himself has his own beef with Loughran.
UFC London LIVE: Guram Kutateladze vs Kaue Fernandes
17:31 , Will Castle
Round three
Guram is on the front foot and is taking his momentum into the third. He’s landing with kicks but needs to be careful of going too heavy as Fernandes is having joys with the counters.
The pair throw down against the fence before Guram appears to just rock Fernandes with a right. Fernandes responds with another heavy leg kick and Guram doesn’t like that – he goes to ground and invites him to grapple.
The pair finish the fight against the fence. We go to the judges…
Kaum Fernandes def. Guram Kutateladze via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Some way to start the night. Long may that sort of action continue!
UFC London LIVE: Guram Kutateladze vs Kaue Fernandes
17:22 , Will Castle
Round two
Fernandes with maybe a 10-8 round to start things off here, and he continues with a similar vengeance in the second.
One HEAVY leg-kick and Guram is down again. He’s taking serious punishment, but Fernandes can’t finish with the ground and pound.
Guram is bleeding and is being chopped apart by kicks – another body echoes. However, he’s beginning to respond. A couple nice hooks connect before an elbow in the clinch gets a reaction from the crowd.
Guram continues on the offensive but Fernandes thwarts his push with a successful takedown. The Georgian wants this on the ground, however.
They end the round on the feet. Guram has managed to recover a bit here, given he looked down and out four minutes ago.
UFC London LIVE: Guram Kutateladze vs Kaue Fernandes
17:15 , Will Castle
Round one
UFC London is officially underway.
Fernandes keeping his distance but slices Guram with a sharp leg-kick. Body kick and low kick then connect as Guram finally responds with a punch of his own.
Then BAM! A fierce one-two from Fernandes lands and Guram reacts by shooting for a takedown as he tries to stay alive. He doesn’t get Fernandes to the ground and moments later, he’s knocked down by a headkick!
Guram holds up but continues taking punishment – those liver kicks are echoing around the arena.
Then late on, another BELTER hook knocks Guram down again, but he’s quick to his feet. The Georgian survives.
UFC London LIVE: Guram Kutateladze vs Kaue Fernandes
17:03 , Will Castle at the O2 Arena
Good evening and welcome to UFC London!
We’re about to get the prelims underway as Georgian veteran Guram Kutateladze takes on Brazilian star Kaue Fernandes.
Kutateladze was once a highly-touted prospect but injuries and illness derailed his momentum, similarly to Khamzat Chimaev.
We’ve got one stacked card lined up, so don’t go anywhere.
UFC London LIVE: Prelims begin!
16:58 , Alex Pattle
The first fight of the night is just minutes away!
With that in mind, I’ll hand over to Will Castle, who’s cageside at the O2 Arena.
UFC London LIVE: Michael Bisping on vital Edwards change that could decide fate
16:55 , Alex Pattle
The Independent spoke to former UFC champion Michael Bisping this week – Britain’s own!
He discussed how Edwards must “hurt” Brady and put the American on the “back foot” tonight, while acknowledging the risk involved in that tactic…
Full interview:
Michael Bisping on vital Leon Edwards change that could decide Sean Brady bout
UFC London LIVE: Edwards fumes at press over talk of Muhammad feud
16:49 , Alex Pattle
Edwards’s patience ran thin on Thursday, as he took issue with reporters asking him repeated questions about his rivalry with Belal Muhammad.
Muhammad, of course, took the welterweight belt from Edwards last July, and the new champion has goaded his predecessor in the time since.
Those interactions were put to Edwards on Thursday, and he finally snapped at one reporter!
Here’s what happened:
Leon Edwards fumes at press as he looks to distance himself from Belal Muhammad feud
UFC London LIVE: Pimblett has dropped ‘madness’ ahead of Chandler test – McCann
16:46 , Alex Pattle
Here’s what Molly McCann had to say on media day, when asked about her teammate Paddy Pimblett, who fights Michael Chandler in April:
“I think he’s learned his lessons in previous fights. Especially with Tony Ferguson, I think that was a big thing. Having [Donald] Trump in the crowd, being there on that card, he knows the drill.
“He’s grown up. He doesn’t say all the madness no more – well, he still does say a bit of madness sometimes. But, no, he knows the sport. He knows how to play you all.”
More here:
Molly McCann: Paddy Pimblett has left ‘madness’ behind as Michael Chandler test nears
UFC London LIVE: Sean Brady makes vicious Leon Edwards threat
16:42 , Alex Pattle
Speaking at Thursday’s media day, Brady had some choice words for Edwards.
“I think that’s a bad look on Leon to be thinking about other people, when all I’m thinking about is fighting him,” said the American.
“You know, he’s thinking about No 1 contenders and getting back at Belal and talking s*** about Belal.
“But he’s got someone who’s trying to kill him Saturday night in front of him, and he has more things to be concerned about than being a No 1 contender in the division.”
More here:
Leon Edwards opponent Sean Brady makes vicious threat ahead of UFC London clash
UFC London LIVE: Exclusive interview with Tom Aspinall
16:38 , Alex Pattle
Ahead of UFC London, we conducted an exclusive interview with interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall – Britain’s standout MMA star right now.
He discussed how he plans to take MMA mainstream on home soil – with fear, humility, and maybe without Jon Jones…
Read here:
Tom Aspinall wants to make MMA as big as boxing – and he’s just the man to do it
UFC London LIVE: Ian Machado Garry reacts to title-picture chaos
16:30 , Alex Pattle
Going back to the title picture for a second…
Ian Machado Garry believes he should have been chosen to challenge Muhammad in May, in place of Della Maddalena.
Here’s what the “livid” Irishman had to say:
Ian Machado Garry ‘livid’ after being overlooked for UFC title shot
UFC London LIVE: Edwards explains coaching change to tackle key issue
16:20 , Alex Pattle
As Edwards prepares to fight yet another wrestler in Brady, he explains how he altered his coaching team to tackle the issues that played a role in his title loss to Muhammad.
Edwards actually has a decent record against wrestlers, having retained the belt against Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington – after taking it from Usman to avenge a 2015 loss – but you can always be better.
Edwards knows that. More here:
Leon Edwards explains coaching change to tackle key issue from Belal Muhammad loss
UFC London LIVE: How main event came together
16:12 , Alex Pattle
Here’s how we arrived at tonight’s main event between Edwards and Brady, after Edwards was initially due to face Jack Della Maddalena.
It’s been a strange saga…
Leon Edwards gets new opponent amid wild saga in UFC welterweight title picture
UFC London LIVE: All you need to know tonight
16:05 , Alex Pattle
Here’s all that handy info about tonight’s event, in one place:
UFC London start time, fight card and how to watch on TV and online
UFC London LIVE: Fight card in full
15:52 , Alex Pattle
Main card
Leon Edwards vs Sean Brady (welterweight)
Jan Blachowicz vs Carlos Ulberg (light-heavyweight)
Gunnar Nelson vs Kevin Holland (welterweight)
Molly McCann vs Alexia Thainara (women’s strawweight)
Jordan Vucenic vs Chris Duncan (lightweight)
Nathaniel Wood vs Morgan Charriere (featherweight)
Prelims
Jai Herbert vs Chris Padilla (lightweight)
Lone’er Kavanagh vs Felipe dos Santos (flyweight)
Marcin Tybura vs Mick Parkin (heavyweight)
Christian Leroy Duncan vs Andrey Pulyaev (middleweight)
Shauna Bannon vs Puja Tomar (women’s strawweight)
Nathan Fletcher vs Caolan Loughran (bantamweight)
Guram Kutateladze vs Kaue Fernandes (lightweight)
UFC London LIVE: How to watch tonight’s fights
15:40 , Alex Pattle
The card will air live on TNT Sports in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. Discovery+ will also air the action in the UK.
In the US, ESPN+ will stream the event live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass.
But stick around – we’ll provide live updates from the whole card, right here.
UFC London LIVE: Start time tonight
15:20 , Alex Pattle
UFC London takes place at the O2 Arena tonight.
The prelims will start at 5pm GMT (9am PT / 11am CT / 12pm ET), with the main card following at 8pm GMT (12pm PT / 2pm CT / 3pm ET).
UFC London LIVE: Welcome!
15:00 , Alex Pattle
Leon Edwards faces Sean Brady in a must-win fight tonight, as the welterweights headline UFC London.
Edwards is competing for the first time since losing the division’s title to Belal Muhammad in July, when he was comprehensively outwrestled and outpointed in Manchester. Now the British-Jamaican fights on home soil again, and versus another wrestler as he takes on Brady.
The American steps in to face Edwards after the latter’s original opponent, Jack Della Maddalena, was pulled from UFC London and placed in a title fight with Muhammad. And Edwards, 33, believes he can set up a title shot against the winner of Muhammad vs Della Maddalena – which is scheduled for May – by beating Brady, 32.
Also in action at the O2 Arena are Liverpudlian star “Meatball” Molly McCann and London’s own Nathaniel Wood, while the co-main event pits Jan Blachowicz against Carlos Ulberg.
Follow live updates and results from the UFC London main card and prelims, right here.
