Belal Muhammad made a massive statement with his performance at UFC 280 as he stopped Sean Brady and handed the previously undefeated welterweight the first loss of his career.
It was an admirable performance from Muhammad, who displayed constant pressure and a dynamic striking approach that chipped away at Brady. Finally after connecting with a punch that rattled the Philadelphia native, Muhammad poured on the punishment with a barrage of shots that landed in succession, which forced the referee to rescue Brady from further harm.
The official stoppages came at 4:47 in the second round.
” I was actually working [hard], This is the most difficult camp I have ever worked in,” Muhammad stated afterwards. “I felt like I was being disrespected. I had to put on a performance for my people. It was impossible for me to finish the job.
“The only thing I heard was coach Khabib [Nurmagomedov] ‘finish him, finish him.’ When coach Khabib talks, I listen.”
In a fight between two top grapplers at the time, Muhammad and Brady decided to exchange strikes right from the beginning of the fight. Brady was able to connect with a couple of slick combinations that tagged Muhammad on the jaw as he got stuck on the outside while trying to find his range.
Muhammad started gaining ground after putting pressure on Brady, backing him up against the cage and unleashing a barrage of punches. Brady was effective with his counter strikes but Muhammad was keeping a fast pace on the feet with his aggression.
As the time ticked down to round two, Brady continued connecting with straight lefts and rights but was now on his back foot as Muhammad began to take him down with punches.
Once Brady fell, Muhammad just came up with another series of strikes and landed on target. Muhammad continued blasting away at Brady, who was trapped against the cage just eating punches and that was enough to end the fight.
Now unbeaten in nine fights consecutively, Muhammad should knock on the door to title contention. He’s now looking forward to next year with that goal in mind.
“I heard Leon Edwards is out here. Muhammad shouted, “Where’s he?” “I heard that the big bad Wolf [Khamzat Chimaev] was coming down.” I can fight at 179.8. Don’t matter to me. This division is my home. I will be 2023. champion. You better believe it.”
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