‘Never again’ – Leon Edwards reveals blunt conversation with UFC before accepting UFC London headline spot

LEON EDWARDS had one request for the UFC before he accepted a headline spot at UFC London.

The Brummie bruiser tops the bill of a stacked UFC Fight Night 255 card at the O2 Arena on Saturday night, taking on surging contender Sean Brady.

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Ex-welterweight champion Leon Edwards returns to the octagon at UFC London[/caption]

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Edwards tops the bill at the O2 Arena against surging contender Sean Brady[/caption]

PA

‘Rocky’ asked the UFC to fight on a UK time zone, which his ill-fated showdown with Belal Muhammad in Manchester wasn’t on last summer[/caption]

The bout will be Edwards’ first since losing the welterweight strap to Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 in Manchester last July.

Edwards, 33, was dethroned in the early hours of the morning as the UFC brass catered the pay-per-view to its North American audience.

And he made it crystal clear to them he wouldn’t fight on an American time zone on home soil again before accepting top billing at the O2.

During an appearance on The Ariel Hewlani Show, he said of the timings for this weekend: “Never again.

“The first thing [the UFC] said to me was, ‘We’re coming back to the UK in March.’ I was like, ‘OK, what time are we fighting first?’

“They said: ‘Normal time,’ so I was like, ‘Perfect, let’s do it.’”

Edwards insists the late start time played a massive role in his reign as the UK’s second UFC titleholder coming to an end.

He said: “That 4am/5am walkout was madness. I tried my best to get into it, but I just couldn’t.

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Leon Edwards believes his performance against Belal Muhammad was impacted by the timing of their showdown[/caption]

“I just feel like my reactions were slow. I could think in my head what I wanted to do and what I trained to do.

“But for some reason, my body and mind just weren’t in sync as it normally is in fights.

“I walked out at like 5am. It felt like that would warm me up and let me know: ‘You’ve to fight now!’

“Even though he got the win, it was still a close fight on my worst day. He won three rounds, I ran two rounds…Even on my worst day it was still close.”

An emphatic win over Brady could earn Edwards a second crack at 170lbs gold, which Muhammad will defend against Jack Della Maddalena a UFC 315 in May.

But he could be forced to get another win under his belt should the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov recover from injury.