Leon Edwards will fight Jack Della Maddalena in the main event of UFC London, it has been announced.
British-Jamaican Edwards was expected to headline the event, scheduled for 22 March at the O2 Arena, and the former welterweight champion will face an Australian foe in “JDM”.
Edwards last fought in July, losing the 170lb title in a decision defeat by Belal Muhammad, who still holds the gold. Meanwhile, Della Maddalena has not competed since March, having suffered from injuries throughout 2024.
The 28-year-old is on a remarkable streak, however; since losing his first two professional bouts, the Australian has won 17 fights in a row. His most recent result was a knockout of former title challenger Gilbert Burns.
Edwards’s loss to Muhammad in Manchester, meanwhile, ended a 12-fight win streak (excluding a No Contest against Muhammad in 2021), which saw him win the welterweight belt in 2022 and retain it twice in 2023.
Edwards is best known for his stunning title win against Kamaru Usman, whom “Rocky” beat in the final minute of their five-round contest. Edwards, who was trailing on the scorecards, knocked out Usman with a picture-perfect head kick, avenging a 2015 decision loss to the former champion.
Edwards then retained the belt with a decision victory over Usman at the O2 Arena in March 2023, before outpointing former interim champ Colby Covington at the end of that year.
The announcement of Edwards vs JDM was the second piece of major UFC news on Friday (17 January). Earlier in the evening, it was revealed that Renato Moicano will replace Arman Tsarukyan in the main event of UFC 311 on Saturday.
Tsarukyan was due to challenge lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, six years after losing to him in a close fight, but a back injury ruled out the Armenian-Russian. As a result, Moicano was pulled from his planned bout with Beneil Dariush and placed in the main event.
