It has been a busy few hours in UFC HQ.

Dana White confirmed late Wednesday a rake of new fight announcements (as well as the fact that the organisation’s featherweight title is now vacant) — including one change which will have a big impact on UK fight fans: Leon Edwards UFC London main event fight with Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena is now off.

In place of JDM in the English capital will be Sean Brady, the 5th-ranked welterweight who will step in to take on the former 170-pound champion Edwards who will be seeking to re-establish his welterweight title credentials in front of an expectant home country audience on March 22 at the O2 Arena.

Della Maddalena will instead challenge Belal Muhammad for the championship in the UFC 315 main event in May, White confirmed. Top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov, who defeated Ian Machado Garry late last year, is injured and was unable to make the May date when offered the fight, according to a social media post from the unbeaten Kazakh.

Brady (17-1) has been near flawless in his UFC career to date, with his sole career loss coming against the champion back in October 2022. Since that loss, he has rebounded with wins over Kelvin Gastelum and Gilbert Burns.

Edwards, meanwhile, was defeated by Muhammad in Manchester last year for the welterweight world title in a bout that snapped a 13-fight unbeaten streak for ‘Rocky’.