Sean Brady sees a blueprint for Leon Edwards to rebound at UFC 322.
Edwards (22-5 MMA, 14-4 UFC) will look to snap a two-fight losing skid when he faces Carlos Prates (22-7 MMA, 5-1 UFC) on Saturday’s main card (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+/FX, ESPN+) at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Edwards’ most recent loss came to Brady by submission at UFC Fight Night 255. Brady dominated Edwards on the ground, but thinks the Brit has an underrated wrestling game. He pointed to Prates’ lone UFC loss to Ian Machado Garry, where he was taken down four times, as a potential chink in his armor that Edwards can exploit.
“I think if Leon’s smart, he’ll go out here and do mixed martial arts – mix it up,” Brady said on his “BradyBagz Show.” “Obviously, Leon’s a striker, but I think he has really good takedowns, too. He took down (Kamaru) Usman, he took down Colby (Covington). He’s taken down a good amount of people, so I think if he’s smart, he’ll mix it up, not just go out there and try to strike the entire time with Prates because if you do that, you’re giving Prates the opportunity to finish you, and we’ve seen how good he is on the feet.
“If you look back at Leon’s record, he was taking down (Rafael dos Anjos) when they fought, he took down Gunnar Nelson, Belal (Muhammad). He won two rounds against Belal on the ground – took him down, took his back. So I think if he’s smart, he’ll do that to Prates. Obviously in the Ian Garry fight, Ian was able to take him down and I think Leon can have the same path. I’m going to pick Leon – I do think he’s going to win.”
Brady (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) will compete on the same night when he takes on Michael Morales (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) the fight after Edwards vs. Prates.
