LONDON – Leon Edwards was taken aback by the size difference between himself and Sean Brady.
Edwards (22-4 MMA, 14-3 UFC) is set to face Brady (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 255 at The O2 in London this Saturday. The two fighters came face to face for the first time earlier this week, and Edwards couldn’t help but notice the contrast in their physical stature.
“I didn’t know he was that small,” Edwards shared with reporters, including MMA Junkie, during UFC Fight Night 255 media day. “I was walking towards him and he had his back turned to me, and I looked over and was like, ‘Where the f*ck is Sean?’
“Then he turned around and I was like, ‘What the hell?’ So yeah, I think he’s about 5’8, 5’9 probably. I feel like the size difference, the reach, and the strength will play a big part in the fight.”
Having faced elite grapplers in his last four fights, Edwards sees Brady as a similar challenge with one key difference that he plans to exploit.
“I think it’s pretty similar as far as the wrestling takedowns,” Edwards explained. “He’s probably got more submission threats as the (Kamaru) Usmans and Colbys (Covington) and Belal (Muhammad). They’re more like riding pressure kind of wrestlers.
“He’ll go for stuff, which will give me more space to get up basically or to re-attack. So, if you see him in the Burns fight, Burns was able to get up every time and he re-attacks every time because he kind of creates scrambles whereas other guys are more pressure wrestlers, I would say probably.”
Despite Brady predicting a submission victory, Edwards, who has never been submitted or finished, has his doubts. He draws confidence from Belal Muhammad’s TKO win over Brady at UFC 280.
“I can’t see that happening. I’ve never been in a submission threat in my career really,” Edwards stated. “I fought better jiu-jitsu guys than him. If Belal can stop you with punches, I’m going to hurt you. Seeing the size difference, I feel like once he feels my physicality, I feel like I’ll stop him.”
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