Heading into Saturday’s UFC main event, Sean Brady was thinking there was a really solid chance he’d be able to tee up a rematch from one of his two losses.
Brady was sure former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad was going to beat Gabriel Bonfim in the UFC Fight Night 278 headliner at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Then, he figured, he could see about avenging his 2022 loss to Muhammad – which was the first of his career.
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But Bonfim (20-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) dominated Muhammad (24-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) and swept the judges’ scorecards for a unanimous decision – 50-45 across the board.
It was Muhammad’s third straight loss, including his first attempted title defense when Jack Della Maddalena took the belt. And with that, Brady (19-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is not as interested in the ex-champ right now – not when he’s coming off a win over Joaquin Buckley a month ago.
But Bonfim is another story.
“I was actually thinking before I got the Buckley fight that Bonfim was somebody I would get matched up with,” Brady said on the Paramount+ post-fight show. “I’ve already been studying him. I knew that eventually, we could run into each other.
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“I don’t know if he’s going to be my next fight, but if he’s ranked ahead of me on Tuesday, that’s a fight I would definitely take. That’s what I’m looking for: Anybody inside the top five. That’s what I’m hoping for. If he has a number next to his name, it’s definitely somebody I’m very interested in.”
In the UFC’s official welterweight rankings, Brady is No. 6. Muhammad was ahead of him at No. 5, but is certain to take a sizable tumble. Bonfim was 11th, and it’s possible he could surge past Brady to Muhmmad’s old spot at No. 5.
After his win over Muhammad, Bonfim said he’s hoping for a fight with Della Maddalena. He didn’t mention Brady. But Della Maddalena has lost back-to-back fights – his first title defense against Islam Makhachev, then a brutal KO loss to Michael Morales.
In normal situations, it wouldn’t make much sense for the UFC to match up Bonfim, who has five straight wins, with someone who has back-to-back losses. But the flip side is, a win over JDM would give Bonfim wins over two ex-champs.
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Brady doesn’t have that pedigree, but he thinks he’s still the stiffest test Bonfim could face.
“He’s a tough matchup,” Brady said. “He’s a big guy for 170 pounds. (He has) good submissions. (He’s) good on his feet. But I think I’m the best in the world, and I have to go prove it and beat guys like Gabriel Bonfim.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean Brady gladly will take Gabriel Bonfim in lieu of Muhammad rematch
