Athletes
Sean Brady Remains Humble On His UFC Journey
Undefeated Welterweight Sean Brady Steps Into His Bout With Belal Muhammad Ready To Show People That He Isn't Just A Prospect Anymore, But A True Title Contender
Sean Brady is nearly 7,000 miles from home for the biggest fight of his career, so the welterweight contender brought a little bit of Philadelphia with him to Abu Dhabi and his UFC 280 bout against Belal Muhammad.
“The whole Philly squad will be out there in full force,” said Brady, and that doesn’t just include the Gracie-Marquez coaches and teammates, but his wife Kristen and his mom and dad.
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“If I was fighting on the moon, they would find a way to get there,” said Brady of his parents. “But they're gonna enjoy it. My dad had double knee surgery recently, so my last fight in November, he was barely moving around. So now, he's back to work and his knees are good and he's gonna be a happy camper being able to just be mobile and really enjoy himself. So I'm happy they're gonna get out there. They'll be able to enjoy fight week and they'll be a part of seeing me train and cut weight. And my wife will be there. It's kind of how I like it. Some people like to get away from their family, but my family's always around me, so if I can have them there and have them with me, it's just gonna make everything even better for me. The only thing I'll be missing is my dog. (Laughs) We can't bring him to Abu Dhabi, but we can bring everybody else.”
It’s a good thing for Brady, not just from a comfort level, but because he gets to share the most important moment of his professional life with those closest to him. And frankly, that’s typical Brady, a blue collar worker, loyal to his family and friends, and a young man not startled or rattled by life in the spotlight. Those are good traits to have when the spotlight is at its brightest this week. But in the lead-up to his showdown with Muhammad, one that could have been a main event on any other card but this one, Brady enjoyed the relative quiet.
Sean Brady Fight Week Interview | UFC 280
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Sean Brady Fight Week Interview | UFC 280
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“There wasn't as much as people would think,” Brady said when asked about the distractions attached to being on a card this big. “Obviously, this is a huge fight for me and for Belal, but the card that we're on is so big, and there's so many big names with two title fights and (Sean) O'Malley and (Petr)Yan. We're definitely getting our attention, but it's not all eyes on us. So it's been easy. Pretty much my entire training camp I haven't been bothered, so it's been pretty easy and I'm a happy camper.”
In Brady’s world, being a happy camper means focusing on the work, his opponent and, of course, the trip to Abu Dhabi. Luckily, he received plenty of advice from head coach Daniel Gracie, teammate Andre Petroski and longtime friend and training partner Paul Felder. As for the rest of the lead-up to the compelling clash of welterweight contenders, it’s been refreshingly free of any social media trash talk between the two pros.
UFC 280 COUNTDOWN: Full Episode | Oliveira vs Makhachev | Sterling vs Dillashaw | Yan vs O'Malley
“I think that people respect me because they know how much of a good fighter I am, but you'll also never see me disrespecting other fighters,” Brady said. “I know what it takes to do what we do, and it's not easy. It's a very small percentage of the world that can do what we do and it's hard and very stressful, so I'm never gonna be disrespecting fighters. I hate when I see fighters talk bad about other fighters. We have "fans" and people who are gonna be talking bad about us; we don't need to be talking bad about each other at the end of the day. I show respect to the people who show respect to me. Me and Belal had a little dust-up here and there, but I respect him as a person, I respect him as a fighter, but I know I'm a better fighter, and that's pretty much the only thing I've ever said about him, and that's the way I feel.”
And if you’re in the UFC and fighting at the elite level, you’d better feel that way.
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“If you don't think you're the best in the world, then you're doing the wrong thing,” said Brady, who believes he’s the top welterweight in the world, and has the 15-0 record to back up his claims. All that’s left is him getting a chance to prove it, and while a quintet of victories over Court McGee, Ismail Naurdiev, Christian Aguilera, Jake Matthews and Michael Chiesa have impressed, if he can go to 16-0 by defeating Muhammad, that will be a statement. Not that we’ll here Brady shouting at the top of his lungs about it should he get his hand raised this Saturday.
“You have to have confidence, but you also have to be humble, too, because there are a lot of guys who are too cocky and they let that get ahead of them and that's not me,” he said. :I have just enough confidence, but I'm also humble enough to keep my head on the right track.”
MORE UFC 280: Charles Oliveira| Islam Makhachev | Petr Yan | Aljamain Sterling | Belal Muhammad | Bonus Resume: Sean O'Malley | Muhammad Mokaev
Having that humility is easy when training with killers everyday, but it also comes from the people joining him on this work trip.
“I think I've got my head on pretty tight and I've got people around me that make sure I'm doing the right thing, but I know how fortunate I am to be where I'm at, and I was raised by good parents, so I know what I'm doing,” Brady said. “I'm just here, I want to fight, I want to make a legacy for me and my family, and perform to the highest standard that I know I can, and I have no excuses. This is my life - training and fighting is my life and the people around me have allowed me to be able to do that, so I'm super fortunate and I'm just grateful for the opportunities, and I can't wait to get in there and do the damn thing.”
It’s almost time, Mr. Brady. And if things keep going the way they are, he won’t be having too many quiet training camps anymore.
It’s almost time, Mr. Brady. And if things keep going the way they are, he won’t be having too many quiet training camps anymore.
UFC 280 EMBEDDED: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4
“It's satisfying,” he said of more fans getting aboard the Brady bandwagon. “But to be completely honest, the people who truly mean the most to me and I care about, they've known about me and they've known for years about how special of a talent I am and they all know I'm gonna be world champion. People are starting to catch on, but I really, truly believe this is the fight that's gonna bring it all to light. Everyone's gonna realize that I'm not a prospect, but that I'm a true contender for the belt, and I'll be inside the Top 5 after I beat Belal and that's when people will realize how truly good I am.”
UFC 280: Oliveira vs Makhachev took place live from Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 22, 2022. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
