Leon Edwards, UFC 304 official weigh-in Credit score: Patrick McCorry/Cageside Press
The UFC’s return to London, England now has a fundamental occasion set, and there’s little shock at seeing Leon Edwards concerned.
On Friday, promotion officers introduced that Edwards (22-4, 1NC), a former welterweight champ, would tackle Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) within the UFC London headliner. The occasion takes place on March 22, 2025 on the O2 Area in London.
Britain’s Edwards might be trying to bounce again from the lack of his title, to Belal Muhammad, final yr. He first captured gold in August of 2022, dethroning Kamaru Usman, then defeating “The Nigerian Nightmare” in a right away rematch. One other title protection, over Colby Covington, would comply with earlier than “Rocky” misplaced his belt to Muhammad at UFC 304 final July.
At 33, Edwards is exiting his prime whereas Australia’s Maddalena is getting into his. The 28-year outdated is getting his most important step up in competitors to this point, however has been flawless since getting into the UFC in 2022, rattling off seven straight wins. Maddalena has not misplaced because the first two fights of his professional profession, in truth, leaving him on a 17-fight win streak total. That features victories over Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland.
A victory over a former champion in Edwards, nonetheless, might put Maddalena on a collision course with the winner of Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov. Initially slated for UFC 310 in December, an harm to Muhammad noticed Rakhmonov as a substitute face (and defeat) Ian Machado Garry. Muhammad vs. Rakhmonov is now anticipated to happen later this yr.
Leon Edwards is presently ranked #1 within the UFC welterweight division, whereas Jack Della Maddalena is available in at #4.
UFC London presently consists of the next reported match-ups:
Leon Edwards vs. Jack Della Maddalena
Jan Błachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg
Molly McCann vs. Istela Nunes
Alonzo Menifield vs. Oumar Sy
Jai Herbert vs. Chris Padilla
Marcin Tybura vs. Mick Parkin
Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Felipe dos Santos
Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Andrey Pulyaev
Shauna Bannon vs. Puja Tomar
Nathaniel Wooden vs. Morgan Charrière
Caolán Loughran vs. Nathan Fletcher
