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Sean Brady made a compelling argument he should get the next title shot at welterweight after he dominated and then submitted former champion Leon Edwards at UFC London.
He not only won in definitive fashion but he also became the first person to finish Edwards during his career, which was the perfect exclamation point on a lopsided performance. Afterwards, Brady jumped up to the No. 1 spot in the UFC rankings with only champion Belal Muhammad ahead of him, while the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov fell one spot behind him despite previously being declared as the No. 1 contender following a win over Ian Machado Garry.
Unfortunately for Rakhmonov, he suffered an injury that prevented him from competing at UFC 315 with Jack Della Maddalena getting the shot instead. Brady believes it’s he who should actually be next in line no matter what was promised in the past.
“I am the No. 1 contender,” Brady told MMA Fighting. “There’s a 1 next to my name so I am the No. 1 contender. Shavkat’s No. 2, even though they said he’s getting the title shot next but if you look at who he’s beaten as of late and who I’ve beaten, it should be me.”
During his three-fight win streak, Brady not only took out Edwards, but also picked up wins over one-time title challenger Gilbert Burns and Kelvin Gastelum while Rakhmonov’s recent trio of victories came against Garry, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Geoff Neal.
On paper, Brady believes his résumé is more impressive, but if the UFC decides he should fight Rakhmonov to clear the air and determine a true No. 1 contender at welterweight, he’s open to that idea as well.
“I’m not going to wait around for something that’s not guaranteed,” Brady said. “So if the UFC wants to do me and Shavkat, I’m fine with that. I know I’m the best fighter in the world, on this planet, so if I have to go beat Shavkat and then fight for the belt, I’m cool with that.
“But I’m going to the fight May 10. If the UFC says to me, hey, you’re next, then that’s what next but if they have different plans, we’ll figure it out.”
On May 10 at UFC 315, Muhammad puts his welterweight title on the line against Della Maddalena and Brady has already received an invitation to watch that fight cageside. Ideally, Brady would get the winner so he can shift gears right into a UFC title fight, but he’s not scared of the challenge that Rakhmonov represents if that’s what comes next.
As much as Rakhmonov looked like the scariest fighter on the entire UFC roster during his undefeated run up the ranks, Brady has always recognized flaws he could expose and watching Rakhmonov struggle to get past Garry this past December proved it that much more.
“Listen, the same thing with Khamzat [Chimaev], the same thing with Jack Della [Maddalena] before he has a tough fight,” Brady said. “These guys all look like the boogeyman but if you go back far enough in their records, you can see them lose a fight. Everyone has holes. Everyone is human. So eventually you get exposed just like Khamzat did with Gilbert [Burns], like Shavkat did with Ian. You go back far enough, you can find stuff … [Shavkat beat] Wonderboy—amazing fighter but he’s not the Wonderboy that was stuffing all of Tyron Woodley’s takedowns back in the day.
“I know these guys in the gym. Everyone is human. I was very impressed with Shavkat up to that point but it’s still a guy that I think I’m very favorable to fight against.”
More than anything, Brady doesn’t want to stagnate waiting for something to happen so he plans to stay active. If it becomes clear a title shot isn’t going to happen, he’ll take on the next best challenge.
But Brady won’t make any decisions until after UFC 315 is over and he knows whether it’s Muhammad or Della Maddalena left standing as champion.
“That fight’s going to happen, I’m going to be there,” Brady said. “We’re going to see how that plays out. I’m watching that fight and then we’re making a decision after that. Nothing’s getting made before that.
“It would be dumb of me and I’m sure the UFC is thinking the same thing, too. They want me there. They want me watching the fight and we’ll see how things play out and then I’m sure we’ll figure it out after that.”