This is the UFC 322 live blog for Sean Brady vs. Michael Morales, the main card welterweight bout Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Currently No. 4 at 170 pounds in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, Brady (18-1) appears to be peaking at the perfect time in his career. Brady has won three straight fights against high-level competition, dominating and submitting former champion Leon Edwards, and also beating longtime contenders Gilbert Burns and Kelvin Gastelum. The Philly native enters Saturday as one of the fighters with the most to win… and possibly to lose.
The undefeated Morales (18-0) seems destined to challenge for gold. Morales, tied at No. 8 in our rankings, is coming off of a win over Burns, and has defeated all six of his UFC opponents. At 26, Morales could be the future of the welterweight division and if he defeats Brady, he could realize his championship dreams even sooner than expected.
Check out the UFC 322 live blog for Sean Brady vs. Michael Morales below.
Carlos Prates is a tough act to follow, but can Brady or Morales move back into pole position in the welterweight contender race with an impressive performance here?
This might as well be a pick ‘em with Brady at -156 and Morales at +122.
Blake Grice the referee for this fight.
Morales with his hips noticeably back as he’s wary of Brady’s wrestling. Jab from Morales. His pawing jab is giving Brady some issues. Brady with a quick jab of his own. Morales chases with straight punches, Brady well out of danger. Brady caught by a couple of hard punches. Morales is swarming and doing damage. It looks like Brady has recovered, but you can see the damage on his face.
Brady with a counter left that got Morales’ attention. Morales now with a counter punch as Brady goes in for a takedown. Morales staying aggressive, Brady keeping his defense high and tight. Left hand from Brady scores. Clubbing right from Morales and Brady’s balance is gone. He can’t get his hands up to stop the Morales flurry, Brady is getting blasted. Morales pursues him to the ground with punches and Grice has to step in to wave this one off. Wow.
Official result: Michael Morales def. Sean Brady via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:27
Morales calls to Dana, “I need the belt.”
He says this fight is for everyone from Ecuador, Latin America, and New York. Then he shouts out his mom.
The game plan was to keep his center of gravity low and it worked.
