At UFC 322, Sean Brady took the biggest gamble of his career. With a future title shot in mind, the Philly native put his No. 1 welterweight spot on the line against a surging Michael Morales. But in a go-big-or-go-home matchup, Brady had to face the consequences, getting flatlined by the Ecuadorian in the first round at MSG. Ever since, fans have been dying to know what’s next. Now, we finally might have an answer – in a different weight class!

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say Brady has been one of the best welterweights in the UFC for a while. But after taking such a crushing knockout loss, the 33-year-old now feels his title hopes in the 170 lbs division might be slipping away. Because of that, Brady openly considers testing the waters at 155 in the future.

Sean Brady entertains the idea of making a move down to 155 lbs

“I don’t think I’m too small. I’ve done testing at the UFC P.I., and I’m at the max muscle mass at 170,” Brady said at the BodyBagz podcast with Joe Pyfer. “But yeah, I’m a smaller 170. If you look at everyone in the top of the division, they’re all over six feet. It’s something I might visit at some point, maybe try to get down to 155. It would be very, very hard,” he added.   

Brady stands 5’10” tall with a 72.5 in reach and lost to now #4-ranked 6 ft tall Michael Morales, who boasts a 79 in reach. In comparison, Jack Della Maddalena is 5’11” with a 73 in reach, Ian Garry is 6’3″ with a 74.5 in reach, and Shavkat Rakhmonov is 6’1″ with a 77 in reach. And that’s just the top 3 guys at welterweight.

You have 6’1″ Carlos Prates with a 78 in reach lurking around as well. Belal Muhammad is the one guy who matches up with Brady in these attributes, at 5’11” and a 72 in reach. But he TKO’d the Philly native already. The story only gets worse at the top.

The champion, Islam Makhachev, stands eye to eye with Brady at 5’10” with a 70.5 in reach. But for anyone going up against the Dagestani, size will be the least of concerns. That is why Brady’s lightweight idea is not a bad one at the moment.

In a 2023 interview with SiriusXM, the former No. 1 welterweight mentioned that he flawlessly cuts from over 200 pounds to make 170. But now, as he starts eyeing lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, cutting from that same walk-around weight and hitting 155, without increasing his chances of getting clipped even easier, definitely feels like a rough task.

We literally just saw how badly things can go when a fighter drops down too far, like Jack Hermansson getting brutally knocked out in his move from 185 to 170 by Myktybek Orolbai at UFC Qatar. Hermansson was on the wrong side of 35 when he decided to drop a weight class. So, Brady might have more success. However, he fully understands the possible consequences of jumping to lightweight. That’s why he already has a future matchup in mind to climb back up the rankings. 

The Philly native wants to fight Belal Muhammad again

Currently, the welterweight division sits in a pretty interesting spot. With new blood like Carlos Prates, Michael Morales, and Ian Garry pushing into the top rankings, veterans like Sean Brady and former champs Belal Muhammad and Kamaru Usman have lost their spotlight. And after the promotion’s inaugural stop in Qatar, ‘Remember the Name’ fell three spots and dropped to number 5. So now, with Sean Brady sitting at number 7, he believes this is the perfect matchup to make.

“After this past weekend, Belal losing, that’s the fight that I’m looking at. We’re both losers. Let’s go run this one back. Garry was six, so I’m seven, so Belal is gonna fall back,” Brady said on the BodyBagz podcast.

For the unversed, Belal Muhammad was the first fighter to hand Sean Brady his first professional loss at UFC 280, and that too with a second-round KO. Since then, the 33-year-old has been looking for a chance to get that one back. Now, with the 170 lbs picture shaking up again, this rematch feels like the perfect fight to decide who gets to erase a setback and keep their run toward welterweight gold alive.

That said, with Brady openly thinking about a move down to 155 lbs, the question becomes simple: Will he stick around and take this fight with Belal at 170? What should be his best move? Let us know in the comments section below.