Sean Brady is feeling confident after his recent victory.
Following his impressive win at UFC London, where Brady defeated former welterweight champion Leon Edwards in the fourth round by submission, Brady has ascended to the top of the UFC welterweight rankings. This victory, which marked the first time Edwards had ever been finished, has placed Brady within striking distance of a title opportunity. Now that he`s a top contender, Brady notes that many fighters who previously ignored him are suddenly eager to face him.
On his podcast, BradyBagz, Brady discussed how his life has changed as the No. 1 contender. He mentioned that fighters who were previously unwilling to fight him are now showing interest.
“I was trying to get a fight with Kamaru Usman for months,” Brady stated. “I messaged him, reached out, and now, suddenly, he’s saying, ‘Brady and I should fight for the No. 1 contender spot.’ Really? I just defeated the guy who beat you twice!”
Usman isn`t the only one showing newfound interest. Brady also directed criticism towards former interim champion Colby Covington, who wasn`t interested in fighting Brady before his win over Edwards.
“It’s the same situation with Covington,” Brady added. “I had been requesting that fight for a long time, and the UFC essentially told me, ‘This guy is irrelevant.’ Ironically, I saw a clip where he said, ‘Sean Brady is terrible. I’ve never watched his fights. Blah blah blah. I saw him get beat up by Belal.’ Wait, you just said you`ve never watched my fights, but then you mention seeing me lose to Belal, which is it?”
“He’s supposed to be this elite wrestler, but Leon took him down multiple times and dominated him. Did you see what I just did to Leon? Imagine what I would do to you? I would destroy him. He’s not even fighting anyone in the top 15 anymore. Honestly, he might not even be employed by the UFC. When was the last time he actually won a fight? He`s not good anymore.”
“Colby, you’re weak. You got punched by Jorge Masvidal in public and then sued him? You’re a professional fighter. That’s just weak.”
While being the No. 1 contender usually guarantees a title shot, the welterweight division is currently in a state of flux. Champion Belal Muhammad was scheduled to defend his title against the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in December, but an injury forced Muhammad to withdraw. Rakhmonov remained on the card and won against Ian Machado Garry, but he also sustained an injury, leaving him unavailable.
Now, Muhammad is set to defend his title against Jack Della Maddalena on May 10 at UFC 315. The next challenger for the title remains uncertain. Brady hopes to be next in line, but if not, he insists his next fight must be for the No. 1 contender spot or a title shot.
“Either I’m fighting for the title next, against the winner or loser of the upcoming title fight, or it has to be me versus Shavkat for the No. 1 contender position,” Brady explained. “I don’t really have a preference. However, Belal and I have a history, which makes for a compelling storyline. So, the ideal scenario would be for him to defeat Jack in May, and then we fight for the title later this year. Alternatively, I would fight Shavkat this summer, and the winner would then fight Belal for the title at the end of the year.”
“I’m only interested in fighting Shavkat or the winner or loser of the title fight. There are no other options. I’m ranked No. 1, and Shavkat is No. 2. A fight with Usman could be appealing if the UFC wants it, given his former champion status and the value it would add to my record, but aside from that, nothing else interests me.”
