Former UFC Welterweight Champion Leon “Rocky” Edwards (22-4, 1NC) will make his long-awaited return to the octagon when he takes on number five-ranked American contender Sean Brady (17-1) in a five round main event at UFC Fight Night 254 scheduled for March 22 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

The 33-year-old Kingston, Jamaica-born Edwards was originally scheduled to face number four-ranked Australian Jack Della Maddalena before the latter was pulled from the bout in order to face current welterweight champion Belal Muhammad for the title in the main event at UFC 315 in Montreal, Canada on May 10.

Edwards last fought in July 2024 when he lost the title to Muhammad via unanimous decision at UFC 304 in Manchester, England.

Prior to that loss, he was on a 12-fight unbeaten streak over a nine-year period. Included in that streak was a pair of wins over former welterweight king Kamaru Usman, first defeating him to become welterweight champion at UFC 278 in Utah in August 2022 before defending the belt at UFC 286 in London in March 2023.

Usman won the first fight of their trilogy all the way back in 2015 in Edwards’ fourth fight in the UFC.

Edwards’ opponent on March 22, Sean Brady, currently has a record of 17-1 with that one loss coming against the current welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad, at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi in October 2022.

Since then, Brady has secured wins over former interim middleweight championship challenger Kelvin Gastelum and former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns.

The winner of this upcoming fight could very well set themselves up for a title shot in the near future.