UFC Fight Night 255: Edwards vs. Brady Main Card Staff Predictions

The UFC is back in London this Saturday, and the promotion has put together an excellent card for the British fans who will pack the O2.

The main event will be contested at welterweight, with former champ Leon Edwards taking on visiting American Sean Brady. It'll be Edwards' first fight since he lost the belt to Belal Muhammad last year, and Brady's opportunity to completely upend the division's rankings.

The co-main event will also feature a former champion, as Polish light heavyweight Jan Blachowicz returns for his first fight since a June, 2023 loss to Alex Pereira. He'll be welcomed back by Israel Adesanya training partner Carlos Ulberg, who is closing in on a title shot.

Fan favorite Kevin Holland will also be back in action on the card. He'll be returning to the welterweight division for a fight with Icelandic submission specialist Gunnar Nelson.

Before that, Molly McCann will take on the debuting Alexia Thainara at strawweight, Jordan Vucenic and Chris Duncan will duke it out at lightweight, and Nathaniel Wood and Morgan Charriere will meet in a featherweight fight.

Here's how the B/R combat sports crew sees the action unfolding in London this weekend.

Haris Kruskic: The main event was originally Leon Edwards vs. Jack Della Maddalena, but the Australian was rebooked to fight Belal Muhammad for the welterweight championship at UFC 315. In steps Sean Brady for the biggest fight of his career. 

This is an intriguing matchup as both fighters have distinct strengths and weaknesses. Edwards wants to keep the fight standing and avoid the ground at all costs. Meanwhile, Brady is a grappling savant who prefers not to give his opponents a chance to tag him on the feet. 

The big question is whose style is more likely to subdue the others. I’ll go with Edwards, simply because he’s fought guys like Brady who often settle for cage control. Edwards has learned from fights against Kamaru Usman where to pick his spots in those situations. I’m not sure Brady has learned to adjust his game plan quite yet. 

Prediction: Edwards by TKO, Rd. 3

Tom Taylor: It feels like Leon Edwards has fought the same guy five times in a row. Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Belal Muhammad, and now Sean Brady — they’re all grinding wrestlers who he can be just about certain are going to try to take him down once the cage door closes. Of course, there are some differences between their games, but by this point, this is the kind of matchup he has got to be really comfortable with. 

I have enough faith in his takedown defense to back him in this fight. I think he’ll force Brady into a striking match, and after softening him up with leg kicks and body shots, finish him off with a sequence that will put him right back in title contention.

Prediction: Edwards by KO, Rd. 4

Lyle Fitzsimmons: The bad news? Leon Edwards can be relentlessly pursued, repeatedly taken down and stifled from unloading with his own offensive weapons, as proven by Belal Muhammad in their title fight last summer. The good news? The guy he’s fighting this weekend, Sean Brady, is not Belal Muhammad. Expect Edwards to find a rhythm, land decisive shots and find a finish in a fight that’ll restore at least some of the mojo he had across 16 months in 2022 and 2023.

Prediction: Edwards by KO, Rd. 3

Nick Akerman:

I like Brady, he’s a tough guy who is good at stifling his opponents. Edwards is a big step up, though, and usually has a decent gameplan to make sure he neutralises his opponent’s most prominent threat.

Rocky needs to make sure his disappointing performance in the loss to Belal Muhammad was just an unlucky one-off and not a recurring issue. He was severely off the pace and seemed to lack ideas, a world away from the guy who stared Kamaru Usman down twice and ended Colby Covington as a serious contender.

I’ll go for Leon to get back on track. He’s an adaptable guy who is likely to have worked extra hard after Belal stuffed his title reign. I can’t see him falling short in front of his own crowd after that. Perhaps famous last words.

Prediction: Edwards by TKO, Rd. 2

Haris Kruskic: Respect to the former champ for still going at 42 years old. Jan Blachowicz could very easily call it a career, especially after a near two-year layoff since his last fight. I just hate it when veterans like him go up against hungry lions like Carlos Ulberg.  

The rising contender won’t get a finish here, but he’ll get a nice notch on the belt as he works toward a title shot. 

Prediction: Ulberg by unanimous decision

Tom Taylor: This is one of those fights that seemingly comes down to a single variable. In this case, it’s Blachowicz’s age. 

The 42-year-old has been fighting at the highest level of the light heavyweight division for years, and has really only lost to the best of the best. If he is anywhere near his top form, he should be able to drag Carlos Ulberg to the mat, and win a decision like he did against another top striker in Israel Adesanya.

If Blachowicz has lost a step in the long time since his last fight, however, it’s more than likely Ulberg catches with something — probably in short order. 

It’s not an easy pick, but until I actually see Blachowicz slowing down, I’ll assume he’s still got it. I think he fights smart, drags this one to the canvas, and wins on the cards.

Prediction: Blachowicz by unanimous decision

Lyle Fitzsimmons: OK, let me get this straight. Jan Blachowicz hasn’t fought in close to two years, hasn’t won in almost three, but still anticipates going in and handling a guy who’s eight years younger, has legit stand-up chops and has beaten everyone they’re put in front of him since 2021? Sorry, it’s a no from me, dawg.

Prediction: Ulberg by TKO, Rd. 1

Nick Akerman: I have the same reservations here as my colleagues. In fact, I think Ulberg could lay it on Blachowicz quite badly. It’s somehow been three years since Jan’s last win in the UFC and I wonder how the time off has treated him after his split decision loss to Alex Pereira in 2023.

That’s a real momentum sapper to come back from. While an in-form Blachowicz would be my heavy favourite, a loss here probably ushers in the final swansong. I don’t know how you blow off ring rust and deal with that at the same time against an active guy whose ferociousness will be apparent from the first bell.

Prediction: Ulberg by majority decision

Haris Kruskic: As much as it pains me to say, I’m not really interested in watching Kevin Holland fight anymore. He’s attempting to break the record for most UFC fights in a calendar year, but at what cost when you’ve lost four of your last five fights? 

Still, he’s fighting a very inactive Gunnar Nelson. Holland is talented enough to take advantage of the situation. 

Prediction: Holland by unanimous decision

Tom Taylor: Did Kevin Holland do something to offend the UFC matchmakers? At this point, it’s quite clear that his defensive grappling is very subpar, and yet he keeps getting matched up with excellent grapplers, such as his last opponent Reinier de Ridder, and now Gunnar Nelson. 

Holland could be helped by the fact that this fight will be contested at welterweight, where he is at much less of a size advantage than he was at middleweight. He could also benefit from the fact that Nelson is a pretty good striker, and may be content to trade on the feet. 

However, I think the most likely option is that Nelson plays to his biggest strengths, gets this one to the ground, and racks up enough control time to win a decision. 

Prediction: Nelson by unanimous decision 

Lyle Fitzsimmons: Remember when Fight Island was the biggest thing on the sports scene and Kevin Holland was on TV every week, beating the likes of Anthony Hernandez, Joaquin Buckley, Darren Stewart, Charlie Ontiveros and Jacare Souza. It was a heady time for the “Trailblazer,” but to say things have been a little difficult lately–a 5-8 record in his last 13, with four losses by finish–would be kind. It doesn’t figure to get better here with another guy whose M.O. is his kryptonite.

Prediction: Nelson by unanimous decision 

Nick Akerman:

Ah, it must be a UFC card in England if Gunnar Nelson is involved. 

My enjoyment of Kevin Holland wanes further with each fight. I don’t get the sense he’s taking his career too seriously at this point, a massive disappointment when you think back to how entertaining he can be and how clearly talented he is. 

Gunnar doesn’t take anyone lightly and I think he’ll have done his homework to make sure Holland doesn’t land a highlight reel finish. I’m going with him.

Prediction: Nelson by unanimous decision

Haris Kruskic: The UFC is putting a train in front of Molly McCann and seeing what happens.  

Alexia Thainara makes her promotion debut on a nine-fight win streak after a successful stop on Dana White’s Contender Series. Although McCann will have the London crowd behind her, she hasn’t shown much in recent performances to give me confidence in her. 

Prediction: Thainara by submission, Rd. 1

Tom Taylor: Molly McCann has produced some awesome moments in the Octagon, but at this point, it’s pretty clear where her ceiling is, and I think it’s much lower than Alexia Thainara’s. 

The 27-year-old Brazilian has yet to make her UFC debut, but is already 11-1, with a slew of submission victories to her credit. I'm with Haris. I think she’ll make this one look easy, and assert herself as a definite fighter to watch at strawweight. 

Prediction: Thainara by submission, Rd. 1

Lyle Fitzsimmons: Molly McCann is a commodity when it comes to selling tickets to UFC shows in the UK. But it’s not a particularly good matchup for her this time when you consider she’s lost three of four–twice by submission in less than four minutes–and her foe is more active on her feet and deadly on the mat with six submissions in 11 victories. It’s a step up in class for the 29-year-old Brazilian, to be sure, but it’s hard not to see her taking it.  

Prediction: Thainara by submission, Rd. 1

Nick Akerman: We know what we’re getting from Meatball at this point. 

Once pushed alongside fellow Scouser Paddy Pimblett, it’s fair to say their careers are trending in different directions right now. Molly’s heart and grit should never be doubted, she embodies what it means to maximize your talents and make a career out of such an unforgiving sport. 

I just think Thainara is too good to lose her near six-year winning streak against someone with McCann’s game.

Prediction: Thainara by submission, Rd. 2.

Haris Kruskic: These are two solid UK prospects. Jordan Vucenic is a former Cage Warriors champion while Chris Duncan has gotten off to a nice 3-1 start to his UFC tenure. 

I’m going with Duncan by the slightest of margins. 

Prediction: Duncan by unanimous decision

Tom Taylor: This is a nice matchup. The former Cage Warriors champ Jordan Vucenic will presumably be looking to get this one to the mat, where he’ll have a better chance of locking up a submission. He might succeed—Chris Duncan was submitted in the first round by Manuel Torres early last year—but I think the Scotman’s takedown defense will hold up, and he should have the upper hand on the feet, even if he doesn’t get the finish.

Prediction: Chris Duncan by unanimous decision

Lyle Fitzsimmons: I appreciate Chris Duncan’s all-around ability and the run that he’s been on since a second Contender Series go-round in 2022. But Jordan Vucenic is on a pretty good run, too, with submissions in his last five victories and only a narrow loss to Guram Kutateladze last summer smearing his record since 2022. Says here that he gets it to the mat and makes it six straight.

Prediction: Vucenic by submission, Rd. 2

Nick Akerman: Oh, I like this one. Both guys are pretty evenly matched, albeit with clear routes to victory. 

I quite fancy Vucencic to lock in one of his extremely effective rear-naked chokes, submitting Duncan like he did to Brice Picaud and Tiziano Ferranti before making the jump to the UFC. 

This is quietly a pressure fight for him, too, as going 0-2 in the organisation will swirl up those questions of whether or not he belongs here.

Prediction: Vucenic by submission, Rd 2

Haris Kruskic: I think Nathaniel Wood is one of the most underrated fighters on the roster. He’s very well-rounded and always a tough out. Morgan Charriere is an explosive knockout artist, but I think Wood manages to slow the fight down and beat him in a technical battle. 

Prediction: Wood by unanimous decision

Tom Taylor: I really love watching Nathaniel Wood fight. He’s always entertaining, and other than a 2023 loss to Muhammad Naimov, who is a great prospect, he’s gotten solid results over the last few years.

He’s a slight underdog against Charriere and will need to keep his hands up if he doesn’t want to get slept, but I think if he mixes it up, he’ll win this fight by decision.

Prediction: Wood by unanimous decision

Lyle Fitzsimmons: I don't see much that definitively separates these two, so I’ll break the tie simply by looking at the resumes. Charriere won six of nine in the Cage Warriors promotion before arriving in the UFC and winning two of three. Meanwhile, Wood has been in the MMA big leagues since 2018 and has won eight of 11, including four of five since the start of 2022. He’s on a roll against elite competition and add the fact that he’s on his home turf and it tips the scales for me.

Prediction: Wood by split decision

Nick Akerman: It’s really nice to see the love for Wood in this piece. As an Englishman who has followed him closely for over a decade, it feels like yesterday he was the obvious next Cage Warriors star to hop over into the UFC. Somehow we’re now six years down the line and he’s put together an 8-3 record against a good standard of opponent. 

Tom is right on this one. Charrière will be looking for a huge knockout in front of a London crowd who will want nothing more than to see him fall. Wood is savvy enough to work the octagon, create space when needed and chip away. I think this will be super close and although I fear a little bit for the hometown hero, I think he just gets it done.

Prediction: Wood by majority decision.