‘Rocky’ is known for controlling fights but that doesn’t mean that he is able to completely shut opponents out.
On Saturday night, Leon Edwards looks to put his frustrating loss to Belal Muhammad last time out behind him by returning to the win column.
Sean Brady has also learned significant lessons from his defeat to Muhammad which remains the only loss of his career to date.
The 32-year-old American now has a big opportunity on his hands to add a former champion to his resume but with that comes a huge test for him with the pre-fight predictions being largely in favor of the Brit.
With 18 UFC fights under his belt, Edwards certainly has the experience advantage but a worrying statistic doesn’t necessarily point to him having the edge in the championship rounds.
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Leon Edwards has lost the fifth round every time other than his two wins over Kamaru Usman
March 22 will be the eighth time that Leon Edwards has been scheduled to fight over 5-rounds.
During his rise through the welterweight division, ‘Rocky’ became known for his well-rounded skillset and tactical approach that often saw him control fights at a steady pace rather than overwhelming his opponents.
Despite his dominant wins in recent years over the likes of Colby Covington, Rafael dos Anjos and Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, a worrying statistic shows that Edwards tends to lose the final round.
The most famous example being his UFC 263 clash with Nate Diaz which the Brit excelled in before being caught with a huge shot right at the end of the fight that put him in survival mode for the final moments.
Of course, the exception to the rule is his back-to-back title fights with Kamaru Usman where he pulled victory from the jaws of defeat to knockout the champion in the fifth round at UFC 278 before decisively beating ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ at UFC 286.
This could mean that even if Edwards is winning against Sean Brady on Saturday night, the American may still have a good chance of ending the fight on a high if history repeats itself despite the fact that the #5-ranked contender has only gone the full 5-round distance on one occasion.
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Leon Edwards needs to shut out Sean Brady
Leon Edwards has spoken in the build-up to his return about how he previously felt pressure to maintain his welterweight winning streak after how far he’d come.
Whilst ‘Rocky’ isn’t going to drastically change his style and fight recklessly against Sean Brady, this statistic does show that he needs to do a better job of shutting opponents down whilst he’s in control of the fight.
Brady has proven himself to be a dangerous submission artist during his time in the UFC and whilst Edwards has never been submitted in his pro career, this could be a way for Brady to pull off a late win even if he’s down on the scorecards.
The former welterweight champion wants to make a statement in London and capitalizing on the times that he is in the ascendancy will be crucial to that.