In the Clinch: Brady Expecting a Tough Burns, UFC Vegas 97 – Welterweight Sean Brady is coming into his UFC Vegas 97 main event fight with Gilbert Burns in a good frame of mind.
The No. 8 Brady (16-1-0), 31, was under a lot of pressure when he was undefeated, to the point where it affected his gameplan. He started to fight to not lose instead of to win.
Brady experienced the fickleness of the fans when he was stopped by current champion Belal Muhammad in October 2022. Then there was the injury soon after that kept him on the shelf longer than he expected.
The fans jumped off the Brady hype train after the Muhammad loss, but jumped back on in December 2023, when he submitted Kelvin Gastelum.
Meanwhile, the No. 6 Burns (22-7-0), 38, has seen a lot as a veteran. He fought for the title against Kamaru Usman. And despite being 3-4-0 in his last seven fights, he’s still No. 6 in the division.
Burns is also dealing with his first two-loss skid of his career. He now faces a hungry challenger in Brady, who is similar on paper. Specifically, both fighters have grappling, BJJ, and striking. And yet at media day, Burns looked relaxed and respectful.
This is an important fight as the winner probably enters the lower rung of the title shot conversation. Both guys seem content to take their time. They know they are at least two fights away and have some work to do.
Belal Muhammad won the title at UFC 304 in July. The current rankings show two former champions, Leon Edwards, and Usman, in the first two slots respectively. Then we have undefeated phenom Shavkat Rakhmonov at No. 3, who is expected to face Muhammad next. Jack Della Maddalena is at No. 4 and Colby Covington (remember him?) is at No. 5.
Either Burns or Brady will try to break that logjam with a big win Saturday at UFC Vegas 97.
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