After getting stopped at UFC 322, what’s next for Sean Brady?

This past Saturday on the main card of UFC 322, we saw a potential title eliminator in the welterweight division. Second ranked welterweight contender Sean Brady (18-2) was trying to solidify his case for a title shot and hold onto his spot as he took on the undefeated Michael Morales (19-0).

Michael Morales had ran through his competition inside the octagon with his incredible power. He also has a grappling background, but I wasn’t sure how he’d handle fighting someone with such strong wrestling that would fight with a ton of forward pressure.

I expected Sean Brady to give Morales no room to work and use his wrestling to get him to the ground or get him tired. Well, Brady never got a chance to get going on Saturday night. From the opening bell, Brady was never able to work his way inside. It looked like he was trying to feel his way into the fight and that ultimately proved to be a huge mistake.

Morales attacked right away and it didn’t take long for him to hurt Brady on the feet. Morales put on the performance of a lifetime and he ran through Sean Brady stopping him in the first round at UFC 322.

What’s next after UFC 322?

I honestly feel really bad for Sean Brady after Saturday night. Brady dominated and finished Leon Edwards earlier this year and that win seemingly put him next in line for a title shot. The only thing that could get in his way of fighting for the UFC welterweight title was Islam Makhachev moving up due to Belal Muhammad losing the title.

We know how the story unfolded with JDM defeated Belal Muhammad which led to Islam Makhachev moving up. Brady understood the UFC going in that direction and instead of sitting out, he accepted an insanely tough fight with the mentality that he is going to have to fight all the best in the world anyway.

You have to respect that and unfortunately for Brady, the fight went about as bad as it could have. In the updated rankings that came out yesterday, Brady dropped from 2nd all the way to 7th at 170. So, what’s next for him after this loss?

Given how things shook out on Saturday, I think the next fight for Brady could be someone from last week or this upcoming weekend. In the co-main of UFC Qatar, Belal Muhammad is fighting Ian Machado Garry. If you ask me, the perfect fight for Sean Brady is either facing Jack Della Maddalena off his title loss or facing the loser of Muhammad – Garry.