Sean Brady isn\u2019t afraid to work for his opportunities.<\/p>\n
In March, Brady dominated former champion Leon Edwards at UFC London, launching himself into the thick of the welterweight title conversation. While welterweight currently has a logjam of contenders at the top, Brady\u2019s impressive win seemed like it would make him a lock for some form of title eliminator matchup next, if not a title fight. Only that\u2019s not exactly what has happened.<\/p>\n
This week, the UFC announced that Brady will fight undefeated prospect Michael Morales at UFC 322 in November. It\u2019s the worst kind of fight for a contender, a difficult opponent who is behind him in the rankings and doesn\u2019t have the same hype as some of the other top names. But that didn\u2019t stop Brady from accepting the challenge, and on a recent episode of his BradyBagz podcast on the SteadyPicks YouTube channel<\/a>, Brady explained why.<\/p>\n \u201cI took this fight because fighters fight, and there\u2019s literally no other options,\u201d Brady said. \u201cFrom what the UFC told me, this is it. This is the only guy I could fight or else I wasn\u2019t fighting until next year. I\u2019ve been trying to fight, and no matter what, we\u2019re going to have to fight all these guys regardless.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael Morales is a great fighter. He\u2019s 18-0. He\u2019s going to be around for a long time, he\u2019s young. So whether I fight him now or I fight him later, I\u2019m going to have to get to him eventually. So f*ck it, I\u2019ll get him out of the way now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cComing off beating Leon, and then I take this risk of fighting this young up-and-comer, once I beat him, I\u2019m undeniable for the title shot after that. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to prove to do. I\u2019m just going to become undeniable until they have to give me the title shot.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not waiting around. I\u2019m not trying to sit here. There\u2019s no perfect matchup in the UFC. Everyone is tough; everyone hits hard. We\u2019re the best fighters in the world. So you\u2019ve got to be ready to fight any of them, and this is what they came with, and I said yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n Only 26 years old and currently ranked No. 6 in the UFC welterweight rankings, Morales is 6-0 in the UFC and coming off the biggest win of his career, a first-round knockout of former title challenger Gilbert Burns in May. Some believe the Ecuadorian fighter could be the future of the welterweight division, but he is several spots behind Brady in the rankings, making a title shot far from a guarantee with a win. But Brady insists that part doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, the UFC doesn\u2019t give a f*ck about the rankings,\u201d Brady said. \u201cThey make the decisions at the end of the day. I go out there and beat Michael Morales after just beating Leon, they can\u2019t keep denying me a title shot. They make the fights. The rankings don\u2019t make the fights, the fans don\u2019t make the fights, the UFC makes the fights. So I keep going out there, I keep being undeniable, you\u2019re going to have to give me what I want, regardless.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if not, I\u2019m a fighter. I get paid to fight. I love to fight. So I\u2019m just going to keep fighting until I get there anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n And for Brady, it doesn\u2019t really matter who he faces anyway, because regardless of opponent, the outcome is going to be the same.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to beat him the same way I beat anybody else in the world: I take him down and I submit him or I ground-and-pound him until the ref pulls me off.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawsuit. Jorge Masvidal wins judgment for over $5 million<\/a> after suing Fanmio for non-payment from Nate Diaz fight.<\/p>\n Borz. \u2018I would love to fight for the second belt\u2019: Khamzat Chimaev says Alex Pereira is a \u2018very good matchup for me\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n Machine. Dana White admits UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili has grown on him: \u2018I love that mentality\u2019.<\/a><\/p>\n White House. Gable Steveson would love to make UFC debut at White House<\/a>, share card with Jon Jones vs. Alex Pereira.<\/p>\n Dreams. Kamaru Usman lays out \u2018dream scenario\u2019<\/a> for final phase of career.<\/p>\n UFC 321. Laura Sanko replaces Joe Rogan on UFC 321 broadcast team<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gable Steveson interview.<\/p>\n Gross, but tis the season.<\/p>\n Stipe Miocic Tries \u2026 cooking.<\/p>\n Daniel Cormier interviews Aljamain Sterling.<\/p>\n SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE<\/p>\n OK, I\u2019ll admit, this one got me. Well done, Merab.<\/p>\n Dustin Poirier got diamonds in his veneers.<\/p>\n Sean O\u2019Malley goes to Tokyo.<\/p>\n Isn\u2019t that a nice callout?<\/p>\n Valter Walker (14-1) vs. Louie Sutherland (10-3); UFC 321, Oct. 25.<\/p>\n Sean Brady (18-1) vs. Michael Morales (18-0); UFC 322, Nov. 15.<\/p>\n This is the toughest kind of fight: high risk, low reward. I\u2019m glad Brady is confident about his title shot, because I am far less so. Welterweight has too many names right now, and most of them are bigger than Brady.<\/p>\n If you find something you\u2019d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKlee<\/a> or @JedKMeshew<\/a> on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, and like us on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n