UFC Fight Night Edwards vs. Brady 3/22/25

Saturday night, the UFC makes its 16th visit to London and 30th trek to the United Kingdom, making it the fourth nation — or collection of nations, in this case — to cross the 30-event barrier, along with the United States, Brazil, and Canada. Despite the frequent trips across the Atlantic, it’s been nearly two years since the Octagon touched down at The O2 Arena, as last year’s British excursion brought UFC 304 to Manchester, and the promotion has done well to stack the deck with talent from across the U.K. and surrounding areas, bringing a typically stacked event back to the shores of the Thames.

Edwards looks to maintain his perfect UFC record in London as he ventures back into the Octagon following his unanimous decision loss to Belal Muhammad last summer in Manchester. “Rocky” had gone 13 straight without a setback prior to that contest, and will be looking to prove that he’s still one of the elite competitors in the 170-pound ranks. The 32-year-old Brady continues to inch towards a championship opportunity, having earned consecutive victories since suffering the lone loss of his career to Muhammad back at UFC 280. After submitting Kelvin Gastelum towards the end of 2023, the Philadelphia native out-worked Gilbert Burns in his lone appearance of 2024, moving to 17-1 in the process.

Edwards was originally booked to face Jack Della Maddalena, who was then called up to face Muhammad for the title at UFC 315 in Montreal, leaving space for Brady to step in. This is a very different matchup, as the American tends to grapple much more than his Australian counterpart, though the pressure and focus on Edwards to show his performance last July was simply an off night remains the same. Jan Błachowicz and Carlos Ulberg face off in this clash of Top 10 light heavyweights looking to cement their place in the pecking order of the division where a new man now sits on the throne. The former champ Blachowicz turned 42 last month and makes the walk for the first time since welcoming Alex Pereira to the division at UFC 291. He dropped that fight by split decision and battled current titleholder Magomed Ankalaev to a split draw in a championship bout at UFC 282 before that, so while he’s failed to register a victory in his last two fights, it’s clear the caliber of fighter the Polish veteran is by the company he’s kept and the closeness of those fights.

There is no hotter fighter in the light heavyweight ranks outside of Ulberg, who enters on a division-best seven-fight winning streak. After dispatching Alonzo Menifield in a whirlwind 12-second fight in May, the City Kickboxing man showed his evolution and poise by collecting a unanimous decision victory over Top 10 mainstay Volkan Oezdemir near the end of November in Macau. With Ankalaev having just claimed the throne and likely destined to square off with Pereira for a second time later this year, Saturday’s co-main event becomes more about maintaining and strengthening position in the hierarchy than securing an immediate championship opportunity. But nothing is ever etched in stone in this sport, so a key win here for either man will put them on the short list of possible title challengers, and if something goes awry down the line, their phone could certainly ring.