
The UFC’s return to London, England now has a main event set, and there’s little surprise at seeing Leon Edwards involved.
On Friday, promotion officials announced that Edwards (22-4, 1NC), a former welterweight champ, would take on Jack Della Maddalena (17-2) in the UFC London headliner. The event takes place on March 22, 2025 at the O2 Arena in London.
Britain’s Edwards will be looking to bounce back from the loss of his title, to Belal Muhammad, last year. He first captured gold in August of 2022, dethroning Kamaru Usman, then defeating “The Nigerian Nightmare” in an immediate rematch. Another title defense, over Colby Covington, would follow before “Rocky” lost his belt to Muhammad at UFC 304 last July.
At 33, Edwards is exiting his prime while Australia’s Maddalena is entering his. The 28-year old is getting his most significant step up in competition to date, but has been flawless since entering the UFC in 2022, rattling off seven straight wins. Maddalena has not lost since the first two fights of his pro career, in fact, leaving him on a 17-fight win streak overall. That includes victories over Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland.
A victory over a former champion in Edwards, however, could put Maddalena on a collision course with the winner of Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov. Originally slated for UFC 310 in December, an injury to Muhammad saw Rakhmonov instead face (and defeat) Ian Machado Garry. Muhammad vs. Rakhmonov is now expected to take place later this year.
Leon Edwards is currently ranked #1 in the UFC welterweight division, while Jack Della Maddalena comes in at #4.
UFC London currently includes the following reported match-ups:
- Leon Edwards vs. Jack Della Maddalena
- Jan Błachowicz vs. Carlos Ulberg
- Molly McCann vs. Istela Nunes
- Alonzo Menifield vs. Oumar Sy
- Jai Herbert vs. Chris Padilla
- Marcin Tybura vs. Mick Parkin
- Lone’er Kavanagh vs. Felipe dos Santos
- Christian Leroy Duncan vs. Andrey Pulyaev
- Shauna Bannon vs. Puja Tomar
- Nathaniel Wood vs. Morgan Charrière
- Caolán Loughran vs. Nathan Fletcher