The Englishman (24-4-0, 1 NC) will be hoping to bounce back after he lost his UFC welterweight title via unanimous decision to Belal Muhammad in July last year, his first defeat in the Octagon since 2015. He’ll be taking on Australia’s Della Maddalena on 22 March at the O2, where he successfully defended his 170-pound belt for the first time, beating Kamaru Usman in their decisive trilogy fight back in 2023.
Della Maddalena (17-2-0) has been steadily gathering momentum since he joined the UFC in 2022. He’s won all 7 fights since joining the promotion, and he’s been awarded Performance of the Night in 4 of them, including his most recent bout, a knockout victory over MMA veteran Gilbert Burns last year. His split decision win over Bassil Hafez in 2023 was crowned Fight of the Night, so he’s no stranger to thrilling, hard-fought contests.
The 28-year-old endured an inauspicious start to his MMA career with back-to-back defeats in 2016, but he’s racked up 17 consecutive wins since then including 12 via KO, taking him to No. 4 in the UFC welterweight rankings. Edwards is the No. 1 contender in the division, so the winner of this bout will be well-poised to challenge Muhammad for the belt.
Among the highlights on the undercard is Jan Błachowicz’s light heavyweight clash with Carlos Ulberg, and UK fans will have plenty of other home favourites to cheer for including Molly McCann, Jai Herbert, and Mick Parkin.