Michael Bisping outlines "nightmare situation" for Leon Edwards after Sean Brady replaces Jack Della Maddalena on UFC London card

Michael Bisping has chimed in on Leon Edwards being rescheduled from a booking against Jack Della Maddalena to one against Sean Brady. Bisping, who's often lauded fellow Englishman Edwards for his MMA skill set, cautioned that the change in opponents presents a possibly dangerous challenge for him.

Ex-UFC welterweight champion Edwards was to fight Australia's Della Maddalena in the headlining match of the UFC London event on March 22, 2025. Meanwhile, many expected UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad to be matched up against the unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov sometime in 2025.

However, UFC CEO Dana White recently announced that Rakhmonov was injured and wouldn't be able to fight Muhammad within the desired timeframe. Resultantly, Muhammad was booked to defend his welterweight belt against Della Maddalena instead at UFC 315 on May 10, 2025.

With Della Maddalena out of UFC London, the UFC roped in grappling phenom Brady to face Edwards.

In a video posted to his official YouTube channel, Bisping addressed the aforementioned developments. The UFC Hall of Famer emphasized the combat sports tenet that styles make fights, further implying that the short-notice change in the stylistic matchup could adversely affect Edwards:

"So Jack Della Maddalena vs. Leon, that's off. And Sean Brady steps in. This is kind of a nightmare situation for Leon Edwards. I'm not saying Leon can't beat him. But stylistically, and on short notice, this is a very, very different fight and potentially a harder fight than Jack Della Maddalena. Styles make fights."

Bisping explained that 'Rocky's' training camp for Della Maddalena, who's a boxing savant, would've primarily entailed striking-heavy training.

Bisping believes Edwards probably wouldn't have devoted considerable time and energy to the nuances of jiu-jitsu and grappling training, which might backfire against a deft grappler like Brady. 'The Count' asserted that Edwards has previously trained for and beaten great grapplers like Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington and even extensively trained for Muhammad.

Regardless, he opined that the Brady matchup presents a similar stylistic challenge as the Muhammad fight for Edwards. For context, Edwards was thoroughly out-grappled, outpointed, and lost his welterweight belt in his rematch against Muhammad in July 2024. Bisping lauded Edwards for being a sniper-like striker but warned:

"It's Sean Brady who's very, very good; that dominated Gilbert Burns last time out, that's going to be looking to take him [Edwards] down. So it's the exact same fight, essentially, almost, on paper, stylistically, that Leon had in Manchester last year when he lost the belt. That's why I say it's a bit of a nightmare."

Check out Michael Bisping's comments below (1:47):

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Leon Edwards comments on short-notice opponent change ahead of UFC London

Following his unanimous decision defeat Belal Muhammad, which marked the end of his UFC welterweight championship reign, the Jamaica-born U.K.-based Leon Edwards vowed to recapture the championship and exact revenge against Muhammad.

Edwards' comeback at UFC London, which was initially to come against Jack Della Maddalena, was viewed as a major opportunity for him to re-enter the title picture. Despite his opponent being changed to Sean Brady, Edwards appears unfazed and continues his quest for UFC gold. Responding to the change, he took to Instagram and concisely noted:

"New opponent, Same mission"