Striker vs. grappler matches, like the Leon Edwards vs. Sean Brady UFC London clash on Saturday, are as old as the sport of MMA. In fact, they are so old that they go back to UFC 1 before the word ‘mixed martial arts’ was in vogue. And while striking has progressed enough that taking on a wrestler is not a foregone deal, Edwards-Brady did its best to capture some of that retro UFC magic.

There was a lot of laying down and spending significant amounts of time on the ground, as the poor hapless striker (Edwards in this case) just looked completely unable to cope with the American toying with him. Moreover, the Philadelphia native neutralized ‘Rocky’ with ground and pound with the second round’s tally reading Brady’s 38 against Edwards’s 0. In addition, the #5 ranked 170fer broke the record for most control time in a single round at 4:57 seconds. Talk about dominance!

This is why Edwards’ decision to try and take down Brady in the third round, right after ‘Rocky was finding some real success for the first time in the fight is so utterly mind-boggling. The former champ was doing relatively well in the third round, landing a sharp uppercut and stuffing Brady’s takedown attempt after it. But for some strange reason, Edwards decided he wanted to grapple with the BJJ black belt, and went in for an ill-advised takedown.

Brady, of course, was overjoyed, as he admitted in the post-fight interview on ESPN MMA. “Horrible idea. I was like ‘Thank you’. He said I think he said ‘Oh, f–k’. He said something he knew he f—-d up. I was very happy he did that,” a beaming Brady said.

This sequence may have been what broke the camel’s back and seems to have taken the fight out of Edwards. The American picked up in the fourth round right where he had left them in the third as he took down ‘Rocky’ and submitted him with an impressive guillotine choke. And Brady was ecstatic.

Could Sean Brady’s dominant win see him leapfrog Shavkat Rakhmonov for the title shot?

“I dominated Leon, won every round,” Brady told reporters after the fight. “Nobody’s ever did it like me and then I submitted him and made him quit in front of his hometown. If we were in Philly you ain’t making me quit in front of my home town I’m telling you that. I’m going to sleep, son. So just remember that.”

Not to mention the American is now in the title mix as he became the first man to finish Leon Edwards in his pro and amateur career. On the other end, the Englishman lost his belt to Belal Muhammad in their UFC 304 clash last year. A win in London would have put him back in title contention, even if there is a backlog of contenders in the division at the moment.

For the unversed, the Palestinian-American is set to face Aussie #4 ranked Jack Della Maddalena for his first title defense at UFC 315 on May 10. But Maddalena is only fighting for the title because Shavkat Rakhmonov refused the fight due to an injury. But since Brady beat ‘Rocky’ and beat him convincingly, he is now within touching distance of the title.

Or, since Dana White can do whatever he wants, the UFC may decide to skip Rakhmonov and give Brady the winner of Muhammad-Maddalena. In fact, former UFC star and MMA analyst Josh Thomson thinks the UFC should do exactly that.

“The question has to be asked, does [Brady] jump Shavkat now for the title shot? Great finish over Leon Edwards, a great performance before that fight as well… I think Sean Brady jumps Shavkat from Shavkat’s inactivity. But Brady had such a great performance,” Thomson wrote on X. What do you think about Sean Brady’s revelation? Let us know in the comment section below!