Brady bound for bigger challenges after Burns win
SEAN Brady was dominant from start-to-finish and besides an encouraging third-round by Gilbert Burns, pitched a shutout in his first main event matchup.
The 31-year-old hopes this is the first in a series of them, culminating with a shot at championship gold — as well as avenging his lone career defeat in the process.
While newly-crowned champion Belal Muhammad will likely defend against exciting unbeaten Kazakh Shavkat Rakhmonov next, Brady didn’t bask in his Burns scalp by targeting two names who’ve been linked with a fight themselves earlier this year: another rising contender in unbeaten Ian Machado Garry and Colby Covington.
Having steadily risen into promotional prominence, Garry has been keen to stress an unwillingness to fight top-15 contenders ranked below him, especially after edging beyond relative newcomer Michael ‘Venom’ Page at UFC 303 this summer.
Covington hasn’t fought since an unsuccessful third attempt at undisputed gold last December, where he was thoroughly outfought by now-former champion Leon Edwards in the promotion’s final pay-per-view event of 2023. He has been rehabbing injuries since, including a broken foot, though at 36, time is of the essence.
On why he wants to test his skills against Garry in what would likely headline a Fight Night card, Brady’s callout makes sense given the situation. Many feel Covington, much like Burns, is declining as an elite-level fighter and Brady didn’t show him the same respect he did Durinho pre-fight when assessing that potential matchup.
“Ian thinks he’s God’s gift to earth and he’s not, I feel like everyone in this sport feels the same way. I’ll fight him, Colby [Covington] is the easiest matchup in the division, piece him up on the feet and ragdoll him. Ian’s an undefeated up and comer, I’m a little bit older than him but want to be here for a long time.”
After a few weeks, Brady is hoping for a swift return – available to fight again by December or early January, with wife Kristen expecting their first child in mid-February and some welcome paternity leave on the agenda for the soon-to-be father.
Burns meanwhile, lamented his inability to get going on fight night after feeling great during the week and enjoying another productive training camp that will feel in vain following a one-sided decision loss.
“It just didn’t flow, nothing was good. … didn’t let it go, props to Sean, he’e tough. I hit him with some good shots, tried to finish… think I forced the finish too much.”
Brady completed seven of his 17 takedown attempts, had 10:34 control time and landed 33 more significant strikes (130 of 217, 59% success) than Burns attempted (47 of 97, 48%) over 25 minutes in a fight quickly escaping the former title challenger.
Round three was the closest but after connecting on a fight-high 17 significant strikes, Burns only landed 16 more for the remaining 10 minutes as Brady wisely nullified his stand-up threat with takedowns and kept him there.
Thankfully not injured but now riding a three-fight losing streak with a bruised ego to boot, gatekeeper status awaits the fan-friendly Brazilian at 170lbs if he wants to continue fighting at the highest level into 2025 and beyond.
Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and Geoff Neal are two good examples of this in his division, but how much psychological impact will that tag have on his abilities?
Few would’ve foreseen such an outcome after his thrilling Khamzat Chimaev firefight in April 2022 and that serves as a timely reminder at how quickly the sport and its biggest players can shift without warning. Enjoy them while you can.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes hyperlinked
Mo and Sports 