Sean Brady just emerged victorious in his first UFC main event against Gilbert Burns. The welterweight prospect lost to Belal Muhammad via TKO in October 2022 which led to many doubting his ability to win the title.
However, Brady has bounced back by beating big names like Kelvin Gastelum and Burns consecutively since that loss. He submitted Gastelum in the third and put on a dominant performance against "Durinho" to restart his welterweight title run.
Brady seems more than ready to take on another top contender, and he's interestingly credited Muhammad for his recent success...
Sean Brady Talks About The Positive Impact Of Losing His Undefeated Status Against Belal Muhammad
At the UFC Fight Night Post Show on ESPN MMA, Brady was asked about his statement that he would beat Muhammad nine times out of ten. He still agreed to it but highlighted that he didn't mean to be disrespectful.
The main-event winner praised the champion's skills and admitted to not appreciating the hate he gets. At the same time, though, Brady also pointed out how nervous he was going into his fight with Muhammad.
Brady fought with "Remember the Name" while boasting an impressive 15-0 record. He talked about having bad dreams regarding losing the fight and his undefeated status. The pressure of maintaining his perfect record got to him but after the loss, Brady actually felt relieved.
I personally like Belal. I don't like the hate that Belal's always gotten. I think he deserves to be where he's at. He's an amazing fighter but that night, I beat myself. I was having dreams that entire week, I was going to lose the fight and it was close. I was undefeated and I felt like my entire identity was wrapped into me being this undefeated fighter.
Brady rightly mentioned that he's put on two of his best performances against two of the toughest opponents in his career since losing to Muhammad. He aims to fight Ian Garry or Colby Covington next and finally secure a welterweight title shot.
I put so much pressure on myself. The moment I lost that fight, I was like I'm going to be a completely different fighter and my next two performances after that were my two best performances against the hardest guys I've ever fought.