5 fighters who cannot afford to lose at UFC London: Leon Edwards vs. Sean Brady

This weekend sees the UFC visit London for a Fight Night event. Despite not being a pay-per-view card, this event looks strong.

With a number of high-level stars in action, UFC London: Leon Edwards vs. Sean Brady will feature some fighters under a lot of pressure.

Whether it's their spot in the top 10, or their spot on the roster that's at risk, a defeat is simply not worth thinking about for these fighters.

Here are five fighters who cannot afford to lose at UFC London: Leon Edwards vs. Sean Brady.

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#5. Leon Edwards - former UFC welterweight champion

It's arguable that the fighters who have the most to lose at any UFC event are the ones in the headline bout. After all, they're the ones who tend to be fighting for titles, or to move into title contention.

However, even with a loss, these fighters aren't always too far away from bouncing back. That's why Leon Edwards isn't top of this list, even though the pressure is on.

'Rocky' is returning from his first loss since 2015, the defeat to Belal Muhammad that saw him lose his welterweight title in the process. It was comfortably the worst display of his entire UFC career.

Given that this weekend's bout with Sean Brady is his comeback fight, then, the pressure is definitely on. However, Brady isn't an easy foe by any means. He uses a similar style to Muhammad, and has beaten top fighters like Kevin Gastelum and Gilbert Burns.

A loss to him wouldn't be an outright disaster for Edwards, then. However, it would push him further away from the welterweight title picture, and at the age of 33, if he wants to get his title back, it wouldn't leave him with much time.

Add in the fact that he's the home country hero fighting in front of his own fans, and 'Rocky' basically has to win this weekend.

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#4. Jan Blachowicz - former UFC light heavyweight champion

The other former UFC champion set to be in action this weekend in London is Jan Blachowicz. The former light heavyweight kingpin will compete in his first fight since July 2023, when he was edged out by Alex Pereira.

Given what 'Poatan' went onto do to the likes of Jiri Prochazka and Jamahal Hill, pushing him the distance in the way that Blachowicz did seems quite impressive.

However, nearly two years have passed since that clash, and the fact is that the Polish fighter has just one win since 2021 to his name. Even that only came when Aleksandar Rakic blew his knee out.

Blachowicz is now 42 years old, and to be frank, justifying his current ranking of No. 3 is becoming difficult, despite his outstanding prior accomplishments.

This weekend will see the Polish star face Carlos Ulberg, a red-hot prospect on the best win streak in the 205 pound division. There's no shame in losing to 'Black Jag', but for Blachowicz, a bad loss would basically be a signal that he's a shot fighter.

Therefore, if the former champ wants to avoid fan calls for him to hang up his gloves, he needs to find a path to victory this weekend.

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#3. Gunnar Nelson - UFC welterweight

There's one fight on the card in London this weekend that will see both fighters coming in with their backs to the wall. That's the welterweight tilt between Gunnar Nelson and Kevin Holland.

Nelson is a truly fascinating case in that his UFC career has never really pulled out of third gear as such.

Seen as a hot prospect a decade ago - at the peak of the promotion's 'Conor McGregor era' - the Icelandic fighter has stalled out due to injuries and inactivity.

'Gunni' is actually riding a two-fight win streak coming into this weekend's bout, but those wins were spread out over two years, and he last fought in March 2023.

At the age of 36, the chances of him climbing back into title contention at 170 pounds seems slim, but if he could recapture the magic that saw him beat the likes of Brandon Thatch and Albert Tumenov, it wouldn't be impossible.

A loss here, though, and it'd be difficult for him to justify continuing to compete. The cries for him to retire would quickly become deafening.

Therefore, if Nelson still has designs on competing in the UFC, then he cannot afford to lose to 'Trailblazer'.

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#2. Kevin Holland - UFC welterweight

While there's a lot of pressure on Gunnar Nelson coming into this weekend's UFC event, there's arguably even more on the shoulders of his opponent, Kevin Holland.

While a loss for Nelson could signal the end of his time in the UFC, it would almost be expected given his inactivity.

The same cannot be said for 'Trailblazer'. Holland remains one of the promotion's most active fighters, but to say he's developed into an enigma of sorts would be an understatement.

Holland broke out as a middleweight title contender with five straight wins in 2020, but a couple of losses saw him move down to welterweight. Since then, though, he's somehow become even more inconsistent.

If 'Trailblazer' had simply hit his ceiling against elite-level fighters, that'd be one thing. However, at times he seems capable of elite-level showings himself, as we saw against Michael Chiesa for instance.

On other occasions, though, he's simply looked completely out of ideas, as he did in January when he lost to Reinier de Ridder.

Right now, Holland is on a run of just one win in his last five bouts. A loss to Nelson here, and it'd be difficult to justify him sticking around in the promotion, even though he seems to be a favorite of Dana White's.

Therefore, he needs to produce the kind of form every fan knows he's capable of - and dispatch Nelson in London.

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#1. Molly McCann - UFC strawweight

While she isn't fighting near the very top of this weekend's card, the fighter who can most ill afford a loss in London is strawweight contender Molly McCann.

'Meatball' is absolutely one of the most popular female fighters on the roster, particularly in her native UK. She's a phenomenal ambassador for MMA, and has tons of charisma.

However, she's also struggled for traction on numerous occasions during her tenure with the UFC, which dates back to 2018.

Back-to-back knockout wins over Luana Carolina and Hannah Goldy in 2022 put her on a three-fight win streak, leaving her dreaming of title contention at 125 pounds.

A pair of bad losses to Erin Blanchfield and Julija Stoliarenko put an end to that idea, though, and while a move to strawweight last year put her back on track, she's since lost at 115 pounds too.

This weekend, then, sees McCann at a crossroads. Initially matched with a lesser foe in Istela Nunes - who has an 0-4 UFC record - 'Meatball' will now be facing prospect Alexia Thainara.

The Brazilian hasn't fought in the octagon yet, but she also hasn't lost since 2019. However, she has taken the fight on literally a week's notice.

Based on the late notice, then, McCann really cannot afford to lose. A defeat would leave her 1-4 in her last five, and a loss to a debutant could see the end of her run in the octagon. More than any other fighter, she needs to come out on top this weekend.