Sean Brady took a significant step towards his first UFC welterweight title shot by crushing Gilbert Burns’ hopes for one last title campaign. Brady got the better of Burns over their 25-minute main event at UFC Fight Night on Saturday by decision.
Brady and Burns intersected at pivotal moments in their respective careers. Brady, 31, sought to capitalize on his reputation as one of the best new contenders at 170 pounds. Burns, 38, previously told CBS Sports he has “a couple of good fights” left as he looked to avenge a failed UFC welterweight title shot in 2021.
Brady’s pressure was the difference maker in a fight fought primarily on the feet and in the clinch. Burns was relatively competitive, buckling Brady with a punch in Round 2, but Brady’s huge striking lead earned him scorecards reading 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 for an unanimous decision win.
“Gilbert is tough as f—. I feel like I did better work on the feet than I did on the ground,” Brady said in his post-fight interview at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. “He was tough to get down. I tried to get him against the cage but he was strong. I got him shelled up in the middle like my coaches told me to. I stuck to the game plan and now I should be ranked way ahead of [Ian Machado Garry] or whatever your f—ing name is.
“I want someone in the top five but if not, mean and Ian have the same f—ing manager. Lloyd [Pierson], run that shit.”
Brady entered the fight as the No. 8 ranked welterweight fighter, per UFC’s official rankings, one spot behind Garry. The win over Burns likely puts Brady at No. 6 once the rankings are updated on Monday. UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, who handed Brady his only defeat via second-round TKO in 2022, praised Brady on social media.
Brady, who improved to 17-1 on Saturday, also revealed that he and his wife were expecting a child.
“Coming into this camp I had a little more motivation,” Brady said. “I found out my wife’s pregnant and we’re going to have a baby girl.”
