Leon Edwards is only aiming to beat Sean Brady in the main event at UFC London on Saturday, but he fully understands what an impressive victory can do for him.
His return to action is more motivated than ever to return to there again when Edwards competed for the first time since losing the UFC welterweight title to Beral Muhammad this July. The 33-year-old veteran recorded a strange start time for that fight at 5am in England, and a nagging injury prevented him from performing at his best.
That’s why Edwards is stuck in going out and putting waste on Brady, so he can get another crack in the title earlier than later.
“That’s where my head is,” Edwards told MMA Fighting. “Obviously, I’m currently focusing on Sean Brady this weekend. From there I’m heading towards the title. That’s my focus.”
Edwards was originally scheduled to face Australian slugger Jack Della Maddalena on Saturday, but Della Maddalena was pulled instead for a title shot against Muhammad after top-ranked welterweight contender Shavkat Rakmonov was unable to compete due to injury.
There’s nothing yet about how much Rakhmonov will be on the sidelines, but Edwards knows the UFC is timing and opportunity, so if he can impressly send Brady, he might just jump the line.
“I feel that’s exactly where we are,” Edwards said. “I feel like it’s all lined up. The MMA gods line it up all lined up to get my belt back. But it all starts on a Saturday night. I’ll go out there and take care of the business and see what happens from there.”
Edwards can’t make plans until he passes through Brady. Assuming everything goes well, he wants to be prepared for May in case something happens to Della Maddalena.
“You never know,” Edwards said. “Injuries happen, things happen. It’s a crazy game because we’re ready and we’re watching what happens.”
Rakhmonov couldn’t fight in May, so Edwards knows there’s a real chance to take his position against Brady. There was certainly no complaints about Rakhmonov winning the title shot, but his recent victory over Ian Machado Garry was far closer than many expected. Before that fight, Rakmonov had a 100% ending rate. This included six consecutive wins in the UFC.
He couldn’t do the same to Garry. Garry was hanging tough with him for all five rounds, bringing Rakmonov’s back to the ground and searching for submissions before nearly pulling away from the late finish.
On his side, Edwards does not retreat from any challenge, so he certainly did not avoid Rakmonov. However, the fight with Garry definitely gave him some ideas about how that matchup would take place, even if he met one day.
“From what I remember, it wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would,” Edwards said of Rakmonov vs. Garry. “Obviously, the way they were talking about shabcuts, the boogeyman in this division. It was just an average fight. It wasn’t the barnburner that everyone thought was.
“I know they trained together before, so that might be why they were more wary of each other’s styles. But there’s definitely a hole in their game, Shavkat’s, Ian’s game. I think that’s shown in that fight.”
Edwards knows that, first and foremost, he needs to be trained in Brady alone, just as much as he wants to go back to the title or deal with other potential candidates in the department.
He hopes Brady is ready to fight, as he believes their matchup is a great opportunity to offer a highlight reel finish in front of his home audience.
“I feel like Sean is involved,” Edwards said. “He gives him the opportunity to score a finish, that’s where I am. I want to go out there and get a finish on him and prove I’m still the best welterweight in the division.
“I feel like he’s the way he fights. There will be a lot of openings for me to hurt him, and I look forward to it.”