This past weekend, the UFC traveled overseas to host a Fight Night at the O2 Arena in London, England. Highlighting this card was the former English champ, Leon Edwards, taking on fifth- ranked welterweight contender Sean Brady. The co-main event was a 3-round lightweight bout between UFC veteran and former light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz and rising star Carlos Ulberg. Other UFC veterans, such as Kevin Holland, Marcin Tybura and Molly
“Meatball” McCann were featured on the fight card.
Overall, this fight card featured a total of nine fights going to the judges’ scorecards, with the remaining four ending via submission. The England Fight Night may not have been the best UFC event in the past few weeks, but it still delivered some amazing submission wins. I am going to talk about my three favorite submissions from this past weekend.
Shauna Bannon vs. Puja Tomar
This three-round strawweight bout was the third fight on the prelims and was very entertaining during rounds one and two. Bannon came into this fight with a 1-1 record in the UFC, following a split-decision win at UFC 304. On the other hand, Puja Tomar had only one career fight with the UFC, a split decision win back in June 2024. Even with their lack of UFC fight experience, the two 31-year-old strawweights did not disappoint.
Bannon entered this fight with a six-inch reach advantage and did not waste any time using that to her benefit. During the first round, both fighters landed some pretty clean shots; Bannon used beautiful sidekicks to rack up a majority of her significant strikes, while Tomar was using both kicks and hooks to cause damage. After the bell rang, it was clear Bannon took the first round on the scorecards. However, Tomar was not far behind and put up a solid performance in the first as well.
As the second round started, the two still traded shots back and forth, but it was not until 2:45 in the round when Tomar threw an amazing head kick, knocking Bannon down. Bannon recovered quickly, keeping her hopes of winning alive by wrestling with Tomar. Almost a minute after the wonderful head kick, Bannon caught Tomar in an armbar, taking home the victory.
Jordan Vucenic vs. Chris Duncan
This Lightweight bout took place on the main card, between Scottish native Chris Duncan and 29-year-old betting favorite Vucenic. The fight was scheduled for three rounds but was cut short with a minute remaining in the second round. After a unanimous decision loss back in August of 2024, Vucenic looked to get back into the win column this past weekend. Duncan, on the other hand, came off a submission win in September 2024, and looked to win his second fight in a row.
The first round began and about a minute in, fans were given action as Duncan threw a beautiful right hand that knocked Vucenic down. Once he was on the ground, Duncan controlled the whole first round, with a majority of the four minutes being spent on top of Vucenic. Duncan dominated the first round with ease. The second round began, and the two fighters traded brutal shots with each other while also showcasing some ground game. With about 1:30 left in the second Duncan was up against the fence, and as Vucenic entered the clinch, Duncan successfully jumped the guillotine. After a couple seconds of squirming, Vucenic was forced to tap. Duncan was victorious and had won back-to-back fights via submission.
Leon Edwards vs. Sean Brady
Brady came into the main event as the fifth ranked Welterweight contender and was coming off a unanimous decision win over Gilbert Burns in a Fight Night main event. The 32-year-old Philadelphia native specializes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and was given his second straight main event fight against the former Welterweight champ. Edwards finally made his return to the octagon after losing his belt back in July 2024 and looked to prove why his name still belonged at the top of the totem pole in the Welterweight Division.
Brady put on an amazing performance against the former champ, and essentially outclassed Edwards. Fans around the world saw how badly Edwards struggled against Belal Muhammad’s wrestling when he lost his title back at UFC 304, and it did not look like much changed since then. The first round was Edwards’ best performance of the fight, as it consisted of back and forth striking and a ton of clinch time. He still ended up losing round one on the scorecards, and it did not get better from there.
The second round began, and Brady immediately shot a takedown on Edwards and racked up four and a half minutes of control time. Round three was very similar to the second, with Brady just dominating the former champ. As the fourth round started, Brady wasted no time shooting another takedown on Edwards, but this time he would lock in a Guillotine choke, forcing the former champ to tap. Throughout the main event, Brady threw a ton of ground and pound strikes, which led to him having a total of 221 strikes and 11:10 minutes of control time by the end of the fight.
Brady put on a dominant performance and rightfully earned himself the number one contender spot in the Welterweight division. As the champ Muhammad looks to defend his title against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in May, fans can only ask what’s next for Brady. Shavkat Rakhmonov? Kamaru Usman? Joaquin Buckley?