Who Will Take Home Win Number 19 in the Ultimate Changing of the Guard?
In what could very well be the best card of the year, two welterweights have set themselves apart from the other competitors on this monumental pay-per-view. A rising star is meeting a tested professional. Two men who have swam in the same waters but never crossed paths. An undefeated prospect and a man whose only loss is to a former champion. Michael Morales and Sean Brady compete in a number-one-contender match that is sure to make shockwaves through an already stacked division, but which fighter has the edge over the other?
Brady is one of the most seasoned wrestlers ever to grace the UFC. Every opponent that enters his range is at risk of being submitted. His most recent win against Leon Edwards showed just how lethal the guillotine could be. Dominating a champion in the fashion he did should have netted him a title shot. Still, Islam Makachev and his challenge for the Welterweight Title took priority, and so Brady was forced to sit out or stay active against a hungry contender like Morales. In each fight, Brady has gotten sharper and cleaner. His skill has exploded upward since his loss to Bella Muhammad, never allowing himself to make the same mistakes twice. While his striking has improved, his grappling is where he offers Morales the most danger, but can the younger man weather Brady’s storm?
Morales has walked through nearly all of his competition with zero resistance. His striking is sharp, his chin is strong, and, despite facing seasoned grapplers, he has never allowed himself to be submitted. The younger man could very well be the next evolution in mixed martial arts. He has all the skill and technique to back up his call-outs and, despite the challenges in his way, has never faltered. However, he has never faced an opponent as well-rounded as Brady, but if his striking remains as sharp as always, his path to victory may not be as difficult to find as analysts had once thought. Personally, I believe that Brady can pull this off. Morales is the biggest threat in the division right now, but Brady’s time in the UFC has made him a lethal opponent. I believe the experience will ultimately be what separates the two men, but I’m excited to find out if I’m right or wrong this Saturday.
