High-Stakes Matchup: Leon Edwards Rumored to Fight Jack Della Maddalena at UFC London

High-Stakes Matchup: Leon Edwards Rumored to Fight Jack Della Maddalena at UFC LondonSorry Sean Brady, it looks like the UFC has another opponent in mind for former welterweight king Leon Edwards….

High-Stakes Matchup: Leon Edwards Rumored to Fight Jack Della Maddalena at UFC London

Sorry Sean Brady, it looks like the UFC has another opponent in mind for former welterweight king Leon Edwards.

With the promotion heading back to London on March 22 for another loaded Fight Night card in The Big Smoke, fans have been waiting with bated breath to find out who ‘Rocky’ will square off with in his highly anticipated return to the Octagon.

Following an impressive showing at Fury Grappling 12 on Saturday, fifth-ranked contender Sean Brady called for a clash with Edwards. However, a recent report from Aussie news breaker Benny P suggests that the promotion is in the process of finalizing a fight between Edwards and Perth native Jack Della Maddalena.

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“It does seem like this is gonna happen, I’ve heard it from multiple sources from the JDM camp,” Benny P said in a video on his YouTube channel. “I just can’t imagine that all these people are hearing this if there’s no weight to it. Especially because it doesn’t appear like it’s going to be Usman at all.”

Since earning his contract on a 2021 episode of Dana White’s Contender Series, ‘JDM’ has rattled off seven-straight wins inside the Octagon, his most recent victory coming against perennial contender Gilbert Burns at UFC 299 in March.

Is Leon Edwards replacing Kamaru Usman as JDM’s next opponent?

Previously, Maddalena was linked to a fight with another former welterweight titleholder, Kamaru Usman.

“I don’t know what’s going on with Usman, to be honest with you,” Benny P continued. “I don’t know why Usman is out of this equation because it was looking very likely that it was going to be Usman vs. Jack Della, so I’m not sure what has happened to Usman, if he’s injured, if they found another opponent? But it does very likely we’re going to see Jack Della Maddalena vs. Leon Edwards in London, March 22nd.”

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Overall, Maddalena is 17-2 in his mixed martial arts career, including a 7-0 run under the UFC banner.

For Edwards, it will be his first time competing since surrendering the 170-pound title to Belal Muhammad in July.

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Sean Brady Shoots His Shot, Calls Out Leon Edwards for Showdown at UFC London on March 22

Sean Brady Shoots His Shot, Calls Out Leon Edwards for Showdown at UFC London on March 22Sean Brady is ready to add a former world champion to his hit list. On Saturday, the surging welterweight…

Sean Brady Shoots His Shot, Calls Out Leon Edwards for Showdown at UFC London on March 22

Sean Brady is ready to add a former world champion to his hit list.

On Saturday, the surging welterweight contender competed at Fury Grappling 12 in his hometown of Philadelphia and scored an impressive mounted guillotine submission victory over 10th Planet jiu-jitsu black belt Richie ‘Boogieman’ Martinez in the evening’s headliner.

It was Brady’s third win under the Fury Grappling Pro banner after landing wins over Craig Jones and Ben Saunders in previous appearances.

As for his mixed martial arts career, Brady currently carries a record of 7-1 inside the Octagon with noteworthy wins over Michael Chiesa, Kelvin Gastelum, and Gilbert Burns. Those victories have landed him in the welterweight top five and potentially one big W away from competing for the division’s top prize.

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Sean Brady wants to fight ‘Rocky’ inside the o2 arena

If Brady gets his wish, he’ll have the chance to earn his shot against former welterweight king Leon Edwards.

“I want to go to London, and I want to fight Leon [Edwards] in his backyard on March 22,” Brady said following his win. “Hopefully, the UFC can make that happen, but we’ll see.”

‘Rocky’ has not stepped foot inside the Octagon since surrendering the 170-pound crown to Belal Muhammad in July. The loss snapped Edwards’ 13-fight unbeaten streak, handing the Brit his first defeat since a December 2015 clash with Kamaru Usman.

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Top-10 UFC Lightweight Down To Fight Paddy Pimblett In London: ‘Sounds Great’

The UFC is set to return to London, England on March 22 where it’s expected that Paddy Pimblett will make his seventh appearance inside the Octagon. “The Baddy” has gone 6-0 in the promotion with his last win, a first round submission finish over King Green at UFC 304, seeing him earn the #13-spot in […]

The UFC is set to return to London, England on March 22 where it’s expected that Paddy Pimblett will make his seventh appearance inside the Octagon. “The Baddy” has gone 6-0 in the promotion with his last win, a first round submission finish over King Green at UFC 304, seeing him earn the #13-spot in the rankings.

Though the former UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards has recently claimed that he will be one half of the main event at the O2 Arena, Pimblett has become a staple of the UK cards and he always draws lots of attention to them. Given that his next fight will be a big matchup at 155-pounds, if he’s going to get a spot in London, it should make for a pretty significant Fight Night event with multiple high stakes clashes.

Both Beneil Dariush and Renato Moicano could have been potential opponents for the scouse contender but with them being booked against each other for UFC 311 in January, there aren’t too many names that make sense for Pimblett right now. Ranked one spot above Dariush at #8 is a potential opponent that has put his hand up to be the away fighter in London.

Poland’s Mateusz Gamrot is looking to bounce back from his loss to Dan Hooker at UFC 305 this past August which snapped his three-fight win streak against top names in Jalin Turner, Rafael Fiziev and Rafael dos Anjos. Having recently claimed that a report which matched him and Fiziev for a rematch was false, Gamrot followed that up with a post on X that called for a fight with “The Baddy”.

Given Gamrot’s list of wins and opponents since he joined the UFC back in 2020, this would definitely be the biggest test of Pimblett’s career to date and an opportunity for him to make some serious headway into the lightweight top 10.

Molly McCann’s Return Announced For UFC London On March 22

A series of official fight announcement’s for the UFC’s upcoming return to London, England have confirmed the Octagon return of Liverpool’s Molly McCann. “Meatball” is set to face Brazil’s Istela Nunes on March 22 at the O2 Arena in one of two strawweight bouts that are currently scheduled for the card. McCann fought twice in […]

A series of official fight announcement’s for the UFC’s upcoming return to London, England have confirmed the Octagon return of Liverpool’s Molly McCann. “Meatball” is set to face Brazil’s Istela Nunes on March 22 at the O2 Arena in one of two strawweight bouts that are currently scheduled for the card.

McCann fought twice in 2024 where she kicked off her year by recording the first submission win of her pro career against Diana Belbi?? in February. After breaking her two-fight skid, the 34-year old lost a unanimous decision to The Fighting Nerds’ Bruna Brasil at UFC 304 in July.

This took her overall UFC record to 7-6 after being beaten by the better woman on the night. Her next opponent, Nunes, is in desperate need of a win if she’s going to keep her place on the strawweight roster.

The former ONE Championship contender arrived in the UFC three years ago and in four outings, she is yet to get her hand raised inside the Octagon. Defeats to Ariane Carnelossi, Sam Hughes, Yazmin Jauregui and Victoria Dudakova have her coming into London with her back up against the wall.

Her loss to Dudakova in July of 2023 ended in just over 30 seconds due to a dislocated elbow and Nunes hasn’t fought since. Several other fights were also confirmed for the card in this latest spree of announcements.

Christian Leroy Duncan vs Andrey Pulyaev – middleweight

Oumar Sy vs Alonzo Menifield – light heavyweight

Shauna Bannon vs Puja Tomar – strawweight

Jan B?achowicz Set To Return After 20-Month Layoff At UFC London In 2025

The first fights are in for next March’s UFC Fight Night in London, and one includes the return of former light heavyweight champion Jan B?achowicz. After staging its United Kingdom event in Manchester this past July, mixed martial arts’ leading promotion will head back to England’s capital in the first quarter of 2025, with London’s […]

The first fights are in for next March’s UFC Fight Night in London, and one includes the return of former light heavyweight champion Jan B?achowicz.

After staging its United Kingdom event in Manchester this past July, mixed martial arts’ leading promotion will head back to England’s capital in the first quarter of 2025, with London’s O2 arena once again playing host to Octagon action.

A main event is yet to be announced, and a number of home favorites are expected to make the walk in front of their compatriots. The first major announcement, however, will pit a Polish ex-titleholder against a charging New Zealander.

The UFC announced this week that B?achowicz’s (29-10-1) lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury will come to a close 20 months on from his most recent appearance — a narrow decision loss to Alex Pereira at UFC 291.

On March 22, the #4-ranked contender will attempt to defend his position in the top five opposite the surging Carlos Ulberg (11-1). That fight was announced alongside another, with English heavyweight Mick Parkin set for a big opportunity against a veteran of the top 10 in Marcin Tybura on home soil.

Prior to his tight loss to then-future and now-reigning light heavyweight champion Pereira, B?achowicz failed to regain the 205-pound gold against Magomed Ankalaev, whom he fought to a draw against in the main event of UFC 282.

Ulberg, meanwhile, hasn’t tasted defeat since a UFC debut defeat to Kennedy Nzechukwu in 2021. Since then, “Black Jag” has won six fights consecutively, most recently outpointing former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Macau late last month.

UFC Matchmaking Bulletin: First Fight Added To UFC London

MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to upcoming fight cards. With events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week. Between Monday, November 25, and Sunday, […]

MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to upcoming fight cards.

With events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.

Between Monday, November 25, and Sunday, December 1, a number of fights were made official by the UFC or reported by reputable sources. For those matchups, check out the list below: