The UFC is set to return to England with the recent announcement of UFC London by the UFC’s social media. UFC London will take place on March 22nd in the O2 Arena a very fitting venue. This fight night has plenty of fun and intriguing fights with quite a few up and comers mixed with established names. The most established name is one half of the main event former welterweight champion Leon Edwards.
Edwards vs JDM
Leon Edwards will be returning to action as a contender once more after his loss to Belal Muhammad. Edwards opponent will be none other than fellow contender Jack Della Maddalena. After what will almost be a year come fight night Maddalena will be making a return. Maddalena’s absence was due to an arm break during his victory against Gilbert Burns. Following the victory and surgery Maddalena caught some sort of infection in his bone resulting in more surgery and rehab. But now he is finally back and in a big way against the elite Edwards.
This fight could have big implications for the title picture at 170 particularly if Maddalena gets the win. A win over Leon Edwards would do wonders for Maddalena’s resume and give him a solid argument for a title shot after Shavkat Rakhmanov. And for Edwards a win over a live contender is a step in the right direction towards getting back to the title. The fight is an intriguing match up and has big implications.
The co-main event involves no Brits and is Jan Blachowicz vs Carlos Ulberg. Former champion and UFC veteran finally returns after what will be more than a 2 year absence. Blachowicz last fought in 2023 losing a close decision against champ Alex Pereira. He was scheduled to rematch Aleksandar Rakic at the start of 2024; however, he suffered a shoulder injury and so pulled out. However, he will now return against Ulberg who has been rising the ranks. A win for either man gets them at least near the title picture perhaps being one win away from a shot.
Rest of UFC London
The rest of this card is littered with British talent as well as a handful of other nations. Molly McCann will be fighting Istela Nunes in a bit of a lay-up. Nunes has lost all 4 of her fights in the UFC against McCann a veteran rejuvenated in a new weight class. One fight that is not a lay up is Nathaniel Wood vs Morgan Charriere 2 very good European featherweight prospects.
English lightweight vet Jai Herbert is fighting impressive American prospect Chris Padilla. Padilla thus far has won both his UFC fights by finish and a finish over Herbert would be a big statement for the new comer. Another vet vs prospect match-up is Alonzo Menifield vs Oumar Sy. Sy, the undefeated Frenchman, looks to take the scalp of a recognisable name at 205.
English heavyweight Mick Parkin takes a step up fighting Marcin Tybura looking to climb the heavyweight rankings. Another prospect fight is between Lone’er Kavanagh vs Felipe Dos Santos both young, hungry flyweights. Middleweight prospects Christian Leroy Duncan and Andrey Pulyaev also will collide. Strawweight prospects Shauna Bannon and Puja Tomar. Another English featherweight prospect is also fighting Nathan Fletcher against Irish prospect Caolán Loughran.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
