Las Vegas, Nevada — If you weren’t sold on undefeated welterweight prospect Sean Brady prior to UFC 259, there’s a good chance you are now.
Brady (14-0), a 28-year old Philadelphia native, dominated 15-fight UFC veteran Jake Matthews for the better part of three rounds before submitting him on Saturday night. The arm-triangle choke was Brady’s second consecutive finish in the UFC, and fourth win overall since joining the promotion in 2019.
Recapping the fight following the event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Brady admitted that he had expected even more from himself. “I thought I was going to do a little bit better on the feet,” he stated. “Not saying I didn’t, but I thought Jake was going to be a bit better on the ground than what I felt. Not saying anything bad about him, it’s just how good I felt.”
Once he took Matthews down in the opening frame, Brady saw that as the quickest route to victory. “He was playing a little bit more distance than he usually does, but once I took him down, I felt like I was just a level above him.” He was right, with the finish coming on the ground just over a minute and a half into the third.
Any fighter who starts their career at 14-0 ends up with the spotlight on them, and that’s the case with Brady. His next bout will probably have a higher profile to it. That’s certainly what the Renzo Gracie Philly black belt is looking for.
“I want a top 15. I think I deserve it. There’s so many names in this division, but I think I deserve it,” said Brady, listing off some of his accomplishments. “I’m 4-0 in the UFC, I’m coming off back-to-back finishes, and I’m 14-0 overall. There’s not many guys who can say they’re undefeated in such a stacked division.”
One name that Brady had in mind after his fight Saturday was Belal Muhammad. Brady recognizes that Muhammad is booked at the moment, but should his fellow welterweight come up short against Leon Edwards, it’s a fight that could make sense. Depending on how the rankings go.
“He’s probably going to be ranked pretty higher than where he’s at right now,” Brady acknowledged. “I just want a top 15 guy. Belal’s a pretty cool guy. We were supposed to fight in December, I had an injury, and he wound up getting COVID that week.” The fight would never even have happened as a result, Brady pointed out, calling it “a blessing in disguise. But top 15, I know there’s ‘The Leech’ [Li Jingliang], there’s Robbie Lawler, there’s a lot of names in that top 15. Any of them come across for me, I’m signing.”
Muhammad, Brady noted, just beat the #12 ranked fighter at welterweight, and has now been granted a shot at the #3 Edwards. “It’s a crazy world, I could slide right in there and not even go through the top 15. But everyone’s a killer in the division. No matter who I fight, it’s going to be a tough fight.”
Watch the full UFC 259 post-fight press conference with Sean Brady above.
