Edwards vs Brady: a Fight Night for Irish stars to shine
Calendar icon Updated 19 Mar 05:30

Edwards vs Brady: a Fight Night for Irish stars to shine

Lee Jackson

On 22nd March, top UFC stars will descend on the O2 Arena in London for a spectacular night of mixed martial arts action. Right at the top of the bill for the upcoming UFC Fight Night is Leon Edwards vs Sean Brady. However, looking further down the card, there are a couple of key bouts for Irish fans to look forward to.

Edwards vs Brady headlines

It is the first time in more than a year that the UFC has landed in London, and it returns this month with a bang. Naturally, there’s a UK and Ireland-centric feel about Fight Night 255, and taking the top billing is the Leon Edwards vs Sean Brady welterweight bout.

Edwards suffered a setback in a tricky duel with Belal Muhammad last July when his opponent shut down his offence completely, and Edwards surrendered his belt. This makes it a hugely important bout for ‘Rocky’, who is one of the best UFC fighters that the UK has produced.

A win could set him on the road to redemption, while a loss would close the door further on any potential future title shot. Edwards was originally set to face Jack Della Maddalena on his return, but the Australian understandably pulled out to face UFC welterweight champion Muhammad in May instead.

Who will take it?

Edwards likes to use smart combinations, and despite being famed for that stunning knockout against Kamaru Usman in 2022, the 33-year-old doesn’t have a strong knockout record. Only two of his last 13 UFC victories have been by a knockout. Four of Edwards’ last five bouts have gone the distance.

Against Sean Brady, he will face a similar opponent to Belal Muhammad. What Muhammad did so well against Edwards was to cut out the space that Edwards had available to work in. Edwards couldn’t get his striking game going, and against a strong grappler, he was eventually just worn out from persistent takedowns. 

Current UFC welterweight rankings

Brady is also a very strong grappler, though arguably not quite at the level of Muhammad. So, this could mean another tough night at the office for Edwards. Edwards has probably thought long and hard about ways to beat such a stylistically frustrating opponent, but this hasn’t stopped him going into the bout as the 2.18 underdog.

Sean Brady carries a 17-1-0 record (7-1-0 in the UFC) and more than half of his overall wins in MMA have come via a decision, which means that this one is likely to go the distance. Brady is ranked fifth in the UFC Welterweight Division but has been showing steady signs of improvement, particularly with his striking. Brady is 1.61 to win the fight, and coupling this with the expectancy of a long duel, he could sneak it by a decision.

A packed main card

There is such a good card set for London, and fans in the arena or watching from home are going to be in for a treat.

UFC Fight Night 255 main card

Błachowicz vs Ulberg

The UFC lightweight bout of Jan Błachowicz vs Carlos Ulberg has the potential of being one of the fights of the year, and the winner could set themselves up for a tilt at the light heavyweight title in the future.

42-year-old Błachowicz is a former UFC champion, and still ranked third in his division. The Polish MMA star will need to call on all of that experience as the 2.85 underdog against Ulberg, who is bang in form at the moment.

‘Black Jag’ Ulberg is on a seven-fight winning streak and is trading as the 1.37 fight favourite. He’s an explosive fighter and always seems to have a blockbuster finish up his sleeve. This intriguing bout may be decided by how well Błachowicz can keep him contained.

Nelson vs Holland

Gunnar Nelson has always been a popular fighter and he is currently looking for his third straight win. However, this will be his first time in the octagon for almost two years, with injuries having held him back. So, there’s every chance that he’s a bit rusty, and this makes him something of an unknown quantity.

Bringing an extra layer of unpredictability is Kevin ‘Trailblazer’ Holland, who drops back down a division having tried his hand at middleweight. Holland, the 2.08 underdog, carries an all-round threat but blows either really hot or extremely cold in terms of form. Nelson would likely win a grappling duel, as Holland tends to be a little weaker on the ground and the Icelandic star is 1.67 to win the fight.

McCann vs Nunes

Home-grown talent Molly McCann will get the crowd on their feet, but she never quite got the consistency down to a tee during her UFC career. Still, ‘Meatball’ is a class act when she’s on her game. McCann was due to take on the winless Istela Nunes in London, but she pulled out because of visa issues. 

Instead, Alexia Thainara, who holds an 11-1 MMA record, will step in and make her UFC debut. This is now a fascinating bout because McCann was a heavy favourite against Nunes. However, things have changed for her, because potential future star Thainara is running as the 1.49 favourite, with the more experienced McCann at 14-7 in MMA (7-6 UFC) at a 2.43 quote.

Vucenic vs Duncan

Relative UFC newcomer Jordan Vucenic will hope to give home fans in London something to cheer about. His main strength is grappling, but he lost out on a decision on his UFC debut against Guram Kutateladze.

Vucenic is next up against Scottish fighter Chris Duncan, who stands on a 3-1-0 record after picking up a win in his last fight. These are two fighters who are attempting to get some kind of foothold on the UFC ladder, and with them looking evenly matched on paper, it could go either way. The judges will most likely settle this lightweight bout.

Wood vs Charriere

Nathaniel Wood vs Morgan Charriere is the other fight on the main card in what will be a featherweight duel. England’s Wood is highly experienced and is a very clean striker. He’s a good all-round type of fighter who doesn’t seem to do anything spectacular. However, he always looks rock solid in his technique, which has helped him to have a good 20-6 MMA record.

France’s Charriere holds a 20-10-1 MMA record, suggesting some vulnerabilities. However, he’s a very powerful striker, which is what he will most likely lean on to try to take down Wood. Wood may be a little too savvy to leave himself vulnerable and could edge the battle. 

UFC Fight Night prelims

Two Irish stars step into the spotlight

The headline bout of the prelims before the main card is Jai Herbert vs Chris Padilla, but there are also two Irish fighters on the London card to look forward to earlier in the evening.

Nathan Fletcher vs Caolán Loughran

The first of those will be Nathan Fletcher vs Caolán Loughran in a bantamweight duel. Ireland’s Loughran looks the more dangerous of the two when it comes to the ability to deliver a knockout blow.

His opponent is a little more dominant on the ground and more accurate with his striking, so there will be an interesting clash of styles in this one. There’s little to split them in terms of MMA records – they have both won nine, with Loughran having lost just one bout more than his English counterpart.

Shauna Bannon vs Puja Tomar

Following straight on from this will be Shauna Bannon vs Puja Tomar in a strawweight bout. Ireland’s Bannon holds a 6-1-0 MMA record and has a physical advantage over her opponent, standing an inch taller and having an extra six inches in reach and also a couple in leg reach.

This may help her to keep her dangerous opponent at arm’s length. Bannon has a good all-round skillset, with 40% of her wins happening by a knockout, and she is the favourite for the bout. India’s Tomar likes to fire off strikes and 75% of the wins in her 9-4-0 record have been by a knockout, but she tends to leave herself quite open and vulnerable.

Will there be Irish success?

Shauna Bannon looks as if she will be in a good place for her fight against Puja Tomar. If Bannon takes her time and picks her moments, then she has a good shot at success, because her opponent will leave gaps to exploit. Bannon is a strong 1.49 favourite in the fight outright betting market.

Caolán Loughran will have to defy some underdog odds to taste victory in London, as he is at a 2.03 quote to beat Fletcher. But on paper, there’s not a lot between them in the odds, and it could easily swing either way.

There’s an action-packed UFC Fight Night card on the way, with some fascinating matches and potentially big surprises. Follow all the odds from the night at Tonybet, which has pre-match markets on all the fights, including Edwards vs Brady, Bannon vs Tomar and Fletcher vs Loughran. In-play betting markets for things such as Rounds and Results will roll along while the action is in full swing.

Follow the UFC matches on Tonybet!

Cookie Notice

This site uses cookies. Find out more about use of cookies in our privacy policy.

Cookie Policy