UFC London start time, full fight card details | Edwards vs. Brady

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is headed across the pond to stage UFC London later TODAY (Sat., March 22, 2025) inside 02 Arena in London, England. Headlining the ESPN+-streamed event is a Welterweight showdown between former division champion, Leon Edwards, taking on top-ranked contender Sean Brady. In the co-main event, Jan Blachowicz will face off against Carlos Ulberg in a pivotal Light Heavyweight affair.

What’s Hot:

The Welterweight title has not been defended since Belal Muhammad took it from Edwards in July 2024 as a result of a couple of health setbacks from “Remember The Name.” That said, he will finally get to take part in his first defense when he battles Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 on May 10. In the meantime, Edwards will try to get back in position to face the winner sooner, rather than later, if he can get a win over a tough opponent who is looking for his own time to finally sine on the big stage. The loss to Muhammad was Edwards’ first in nearly a decade, so it was a bitter pill to swallow. The loss was enhanced due to the fact that Muhammad simply dominated the former champ for 25 minutes. If you ask “Rocky’s” team, however, Edwards was not at full health. But that is neither here nor there because he has to focus on the task at hand if he wants a chance at reclaiming the 170-pound strap.

As for Brady, he is firmly cemented at the No. 5 spot, but he obviously wants more. And among the goals he has is to finally contended for a UFC title. Interestingly enough, the lone setback of his career came against the current champion. Other than that, Brady has been outstanding, going 7-1 inside the Octagon with big wins over Gilbert Burns and Kelvin Gastelum, just to name a few. A win over Edwards will be the biggest of his career, and when you look at the rest of the Top 5 the only other person who would be standing in his way of a potential championship fight is Shavkat Rakhmonov. A lot is riding on this fight for both men, which should make it very interesting come fight night.

What’s Not:

Jai Herbert has had a not-so stellar run under the UFC banner since joining the ranks back in 2020, amassing a 3-4-1 mark. He is coming off a victory over Rolando Bedoya so a win against Chris Padilla will give him some much-needed momentum to finally starting making some waves in his UFC career. That’s why I don’t understand the matchup against Padilla, who is one a five-fight win streak and 2-0 inside the Octagon, including two finishes to start off his UFC career. Padilla should be getting someone with a bit more upside.

Original Card vs. Actual Card:

Edwards was initially set to face Jack Della Maddalena before he was pulled from the fight in favor of getting a title shot. It’s an opportunity anyone would take.Also, Molly McCann was set to face Istela Nunes before Nunes bowed out for undisclosed reasons and replaced by UFC rookie, Alexia Thainara.

Injuries:

Oumar Sy was set to face Alonzo Menifield at this event before he was pulled from the fight with an undisclosed injury. As a result, Menifield was booked to face Julius Walker last month, defeating him via split-decision.

New Blood:

Alexia Thainara got the call up to the big show to face off against Molly McCann after Istela Nunes was forced out. “Burguesinha” is 11-1 as a pro and is currently on a nine-fight win streak, scoring six finishes along the way. Getting a win over McCann would be a great way to kick off her UFC career since “Meatball” is wildly popular among UK fans. That said, she hasn’t been doing a whole lot of winning, going just 1-3 in her last four fights, including losing her most recent fight against Bruna Brasil.

Andrey Pulyaev is riding a five-fight win streak as he goes into his UFC debut against Christian Leroy Duncan. Pulyaev won his fight on the Contender Series, earning his a contract. He has seven finishes in nine wins, but he has a tough fight against Duncan, who is coming in hungry for a win after coming up short against Gregory Rodrigues.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

Hometown favorite, Lone’er Kavanagh, wowed the UFC brass with a knockout win on the Contender Series, and then followed it up with a unanimous decision win over Jose Ochoa in his UFC debut. Now, he hopes to go two-for-two when he goes to work against Felipe dos Santos, who is a subpar 1-2 under the UFC banner.

In nearly 10 years with UFC, Marcin Tybura has not been able to get close to sniffing a title fight. He has, however, done enough work to remain employed with the promotion for so long. He is coming off a big win over Jhonata Diniz, and now faces a tough challenge in Mick Parkin, who is undefeated at 10-0, which includes going 4-0 inside the Octagon.

Two fairly new UFC Strawweight contenders will do battle as Shauna Bannon takes on Puja Tomar. Bannon lost in her UFC debut against Bruna Brasil, but she bounced back nicely with a win over Alice Ardelean via split-decision. As for Tomar, she is currently enjoying a five-fight win streak and won her UFC debut by defeating Rayanne dos Santos via split-decision.

Nathan Fletcher got off to a fins start to his UFC career by forcing Zygimantas Ramaska to tap to an arm-triangle choke. The British brawler is eying his fourth straight win when he tangos with Caolan Loughran, the Irish slugger who is hungry for a win after losing two of his first three fights with the promotion.

Kaue Fernandes picked up his first UFC win by knocking out Mohammed Yahya in his most recent outing, and he will not try to to secure his second in a row when he battles Guram Kutateladze. As for “The Georgian Viking,” he snapped his two-fight losing streak by defeating Jordan Vucenic via unanimous decision, his first win in four years.

Who Needs A Win Badly:

Kevin Holland seemed to be a star in the making when he first came out of the Contender Series, jumping out to an 8-2 record in his first 10 fights inside the Octagon. Since then, however, he has been very inconsistent when trying to pick up wins, going 5-8-1 since, which includes going 1-4 in his last five, losing his two outings at the hands of Roman Dolidze and Reinier de Ridder. The promotion obviously still thinks highly of him, or else he wouldn’t be getting main card slots. That said, if he drops his third in a row he could be heading down to the “prelims” soon. And he will have a very tough out in Gunnar Nelson who, despite his lengthy layoff, is still as dangerous as they come. Nelson hasn’t competed in two years, as he was last seen defeating Bryan Barberena at UFC 286 in March 2023. He is currently on a two-fight win streak and if he latches on to Holland he can submit him. It would be “Trailblazer’s” best bet to try and keep the fight standing as long as possible.

Interest Level: 7/10

It’s actually a pretty decent card, but it’s to be expected since it’s been a minute since the promotion went to London. The main and co-main events are pretty interesting and there is a lot at stake in both fights, but the rest of the main card is pretty interesting, as well.

Now that Magomed Ankalaev is the new champion at 205 pounds, he has a big target on his back. And one man that is gunning for him is former division champion, Jan Błachowicz, who has been pining at the opportunity to win his title back and perhaps settle unsettled business against the champ after fighting to a split-draw at UFC 282 in July 2022. Blachowicz has been out of action due to a bum shoulder, but now he returns to face a fast-rising contender in Carlos Ulberg. Speaking of which, Ulberg has been scorching hot after throwing up a dud in his UFC debut, rattling off seven straight wins to move him up all the way to No. 6. A win over Blachowicz will put him in the Top 5, maybe even the Top 3.

Jordan Vucenic got off to a bad start in his UFC career, losing to Guram Kutateladze via unanimous decision, snapping his four-fight win streak, in the process. Now, “The Epidemic” is out to secure his first win inside the Octagon when he battles Chris Duncan in a Lightweight affair. Duncan is coming off a win against Bolaji Oki, bringing his UFC record to 3-1. If Vucenic can’t get a win this weekend, his UFC career could be cut short.

Nathaniel Wood was supposed to be one of the next big stars coming out of the UK, but his time inside the Octagon has been hot and cold. He started off with three straight wins before getting knocked out by John Dodson, going 1-2 in his next three fights. He then, once again, won three straight before losing to Muhammad Naimov. He bounced back with a win over Daniel Pineda, and now is out to secure his second straight when he goes up against Morgan Charriere, who is 2-1 under the UFC banner and is coming off a win over Gabriel Miranda.

Enjoy the fights!

Full UFC London Fight Card:

UFC London Main Event On ESPN+:

170 lbs.: Leon Edwards vs. Sean Brady

UFC London Main Card On ESPN+ (4 p.m. ET):

205 lbs.: Jan Błachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg170 lbs.: Gunnar Nelson vs. Kevin Holland115 lbs.: Molly McCann vs. Alexia Thainara155 lbs.: Jordan Vucenic vs. Chris Duncan145 lbs.: Nathaniel Wood vs. Morgan Charriere

UFC London ‘Prelims’ Card On ESPN+ (1 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Jai Herbert vs. Chris Padilla125 lbs.: Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Felipe dos Santos265 lbs.: Marcin Tybura vs. Mick Parkin185 lbs.: Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Andre Pulyaev115 lbs.: Shauna Bannon vs. Puja Tomar135 lbs.: Nathan Fletcher vs. Caolan Loughran155 lbs.: Guram Kutateladze vs. Kaue Fernandes

*Fight card, bout order and number of fights remain subject to change.*

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC London fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET.

To checkout the latest and greatest UFC London news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here.