Belal Muhammad to Take On Sean Brady at UFC 281 in Abu Dhabi

Big business here at welterweight. No. 5 vs. No. 9 in the official rankings. Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) vs. Sean Brady (@seanbradymma) is verbally agreed for Oct. 22 in Abu Dhabi, per sources. pic.twitter.com/z2DodT19HS

— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) July 8, 2022

A high-stakes welterweight matchup is the first fight booked for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to the United Arab Emirates in October.

In March, the promotion announced that it would be heading back to the Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Since then, no fight had been booked for that UFC 281 lineup until Friday. The UFC’s broadcast partner of ESPN broke the news that Belal Muhammad (21-3, 1 NC) will square off with Sean Brady (15-0) in a pivotal battle at 170 pounds. The Oct. 22 fight has been verbally agreed to, and contracts are expected to be signed soon.

Muhammad is currently riding a stellar eight-fight unbeaten streak, with a trio of recent victories from 2021 to date over Demian Mama, Stephen Thompson and Vicente Luque. Before then, a matchup against Leon Edwards ended early in Round 2 due to an accidental eye poke, resulting in a no contest. Prior to the Edwards meeting, “Remember the Name” had triumphed four times in a row over the likes of Dhiego Lima and Lyman Good. The Chicago native holds an exceptionally low finish rate of 24% as a pro, with 10 of his 12 UFC victories coming by decision.

Philadelphia’s Brady has yet to taste defeat as a pro, and he joined the roster in 2019 and went on to rattle off five straight wins in the Octagon. A pair of decisions over Court McGee and Ismail Naurdiev preceded two submissions over Christian Aguilera and Jake Matthews. Since then, Brady passed the top-10 test by defeating Michael Chiesa on the scorecards. The stoppage rate for the Renzo Gracie Philly product is not as low as Muhammad’s, but it does clock in below 50% at 47%.