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.
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%.