Sean Brady delivers career-best win at UFC London

Sean Brady delivered a career-defining performance at UFC Fight Night in London, submitting former champion Leon Edwards in the fourth round to stake a compelling claim for a future title shot.

Filling in on short notice after Jack Della Maddalena was pulled from the card, Brady (18-1) overwhelmed Edwards with pressure, takedowns, and top control before locking in a guillotine choke at 1:39 of Round 4.

The win silenced a partisan O2 Arena crowd and extended Brady’s win streak to three, with the top UFC betting sites pricing Brady as a $1.62 favourite.

“I know I can do that against anybody in the division,” Brady said post-fight.

“I think I belong in the top 3 for sure.”

Brady now sits in pole position to challenge the winner of May’s welterweight title bout between Belal Muhammad and Della Maddalena, where the top online bookmakers have the Australian priced as a $2.82 outsider.

However, a potential rematch with Muhammad—who stopped Brady in 2022—could complicate the title picture with Shavkat Rakhmonov also in the mix.

Meanwhile, emotional scenes unfolded earlier in the night as fan favourite Molly McCann announced her retirement following a first-round submission loss to UFC debutant Alexia Thainara.

The Brazilian accepted the fight on short notice and locked in a rear-naked choke after dominating on the ground.

“The UFC deserves more. I deserve more. You all deserve more,” said McCann, laying her gloves in the centre of the Octagon after her fourth career submission loss.

Long-time teammate Paddy Pimblett was visibly emotional cage-side during her farewell.

In the co-main event, New Zealand’s Carlos Ulberg ($1.32 with BetOnline) strengthened his case for a light heavyweight title shot with a calculated unanimous decision win over Jan Blachowicz ($3.40 with BetOnline).

It marked Ulberg’s eighth straight victory, and he wasted no time calling out champion Magomed Ankalaev.

“I beat him [Blachowicz] more convincingly than Ankalaev or Pereira. I’m ready,” Ulberg declared, though Ankalaev later poured cold water on the callout, insisting Alex Pereira was next in line.

Also on the main card, Kevin Holland edged out Gunnar Nelson in a back-and-forth three-round battle, while Chris Duncan earned a second-round submission over Jordan Vucenic.

Nathaniel Wood impressed with a clean sweep of Morgan Charrière on the scorecards.

Despite a relatively subdued card, UFC London broke the Fight Night gate record, drawing a sold-out crowd of 18,582 and generating over $4.7 million in revenue.

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