UFC welterweight Sean Brady endured the first defeat of his MMA career on the undercard at UFC 280. Brady lost to Belal Muhammad by second-round stoppage, but declared on The MMA Hour that he was relieved to have the pressure of his undefeated status removed.
“Literally the second that fight was over, I had this sense of relief. I was carrying around this weight on my shoulders of being undefeated, it almost felt like my entire life was built around me being undefeated, and if I lost that, my life would be over.
Brady Recalls “Relief” of Losing Undefeated Status at UFC 280
As soon as I lost, I was like, ‘That’s the worst thing that could happen to me, and it’s done,’ it’s over with. I don’t have to worry about it anymore. My mind has opened up so much, I just feel this sense of relief that I can just be a new person, I can be a new fighter.”
Brady, a prodigious wrestler, had won all of his previous fifteen professional fights before UFC 280. Brady’s loss against Belal Muhammad represents his chance to reflect and bounce back.
“I’ve always asked myself, ‘How are you going to react if you lose?’ Because it’s a possibility. I know, I mentally beat myself. I went back and watched the fight, and I looked good in the first round, but in my mind, I’m my hardest critic, and it cost me the fight.
If I could go back and choose to win the fight, I wouldn’t have. All the lessons I’ve learned about myself, and all these little things that I need to change — and will change moving forward — wouldn’t have happened. I would’ve continued doing the same things I was doing, and eventually it would’ve caught up to me. I’m so happy that this loss happened to me now, because guys will lose one fight and go on these crazy tears. ‘GSP’ lost, went on this crazy tear, Islam [Makhachev] lost once. I was going to lose eventually, and I’m really happy with how I’m handling it.
I’m good. I’m happy. I’m not devastated. Yeah, it sucks, but you can’t go swimming without getting wet. Eventually it’s going to happen, and it’s going to happen to all of us, but I’m not even 30 years old. My career is just starting now.”
Sean Brady still expects to fight for a UFC title someday, but knows that he needs to develop mentally first. “If I had won that fight, I would either have fought in a No. 1 contender fight, or even possibly for the belt, crazier things have happened, and I’m not ready for that.
I’m honest with myself, and I know mentally I’m not. Physically, my skills, I know I can beat anybody in the world, but mentally, that entire week, I just beat myself. Even going into the fight, walking into the arena, I beat myself, and Belal, he did good.”
