Sean Brady Picks Up Important Win over Gilbert Burns

Sean Brady may never get a shot at fighting for the UFC welterweight crown. But if the Philadelphia native continues to pick up wins like he did over Gilbert Burns Saturday night, his name will never be far from the conversation. Brady controlled the fight for five rounds, staying safe while making sure that Burns, a former title challenger, couldn’t build any momentum.

Anyone taking a peek at MMAfighting latest news will see that Brady’s reputation took a bit of a hit when now-champion Belal Muhammad knocked him out in October 2022. It was a shocking defeat for the now 17-1 Brady. Muhammad hadn’t knocked anyone out in years, and Brady was undefeated then.

The win over Burns may signal that Brady is back to being on a championship trajectory. Brady now has consecutive wins over former title challengers. Brady will need to keep the momentum going to get another shot at fighting Muhammad.

Silva Cements Stop as Flyweight Contender

Jessica Andrade has been one of the most consistent fighters in the women’s flyweight division for years. If Natalia Silva wanted to be considered a legitimate title hopeful, she needed to prove her skills against the former champion. Silva didn’t produce a wild finish against Andrade, who loves being involved in wild fights.

Instead, Silva applied consistent pressure that had the veteran fighter searching for answers. Andrade had no answers. Silva utilized excellent footwork and tagged Andrade as she tried to close the distance.

Silva said in her interview after the fight that she had a good idea of what Andrade’s game plan would be. Silva let UFC CEO Dana White know she is ready for the top spot.

“I knew the strategy was that she was going to pressure me and come close,” Silva said. “I’m going to be running around this octagon. Dana, I came here to be a champion. I want that shot.”

Steve Garcia Bullies Kyle Nelson

Keeping Steve Garcia out of the top 15 rankings at featherweight is going to be difficult. Garcia has spent the last two years laying out any challenger who is willing to sign on the dotted line to fight him. Kyle Nelson chose to try and wrestle Garcia to minimize his impact.

The best MMA news site shows that Nelson was able to make that work. He caught a leg kick and dragged Garcia down to the canvas for a takedown. While Nelson was in a dominant position, he wasn’t able to lock up a submission.

Anyone who gives Garcia a second chance usually has a bad time. Garcia was able to find himself in top position on the ground and unleashed vicious ground and pound to stop the fight late in the first round. Garcia has now won five straight fights, all via knockout in the first or second round.

Schnell Chooses to Walk Away

Matt Schnell may have gotten a title shot had he defeated Steve Erceg back in March. But Schnell, who has a questionable chin, was denied a shot at the flyweight title when he suffered a knockout loss in the second round. Against Cody Durden Saturday night, Schnell’s fight fell into an unfortunate pattern for him.

Schnell held his own in the first round and may have won the striking battle. But in the second round, Schnell decided to shoot for a wild takedown. Durden sprawled to stop the shot, then locked up a ninja choke.

Schnell was forced to tap out. Following four losses in his previous five fights, including two losses by submission and two by knockout, Schnell announced his retirement following the fight.

He walked away from the octagon visibly sobbing. It was a sad end for a fighter who produced a lot of memorable moments during his career.

Yanal Ashmouz Grinds Out Decision Victory

Fighting Trevor Peek is difficult. When it comes to MMA breaking news, there are always reports of Peek fighting with an unorthodox style. Peek threw out plenty of wild strikes against Yanal Ashmouz. Ashmouz didn’t let that bother him too much.

While Peek fired out wild knockout punches, Ashmouz set up a bunch of takedowns. By landing those takedowns, Ashmouz was able to keep Peek off balance.

Demopoulos Needs to Keep Fighting

There are no timeouts in MMA. There is no appeal to the referee during the fight. If someone is cheating, you have to rely on the referee to make things right.

Vanessa Demopoulos had won five of her previous six fights in the UFC on entering the bout with Jacqueline Amorim. So, she should have known better when things went a little awry how to adjust. Amorim got Demopoulos on the ground during the first round of their fight.

When Amorim got on top, she was working to control Demopoulos’ wrists and set up an armbar. While Amorim was working on that, Demopoulos started complaining loudly to the referee that Amorim had her fingers inside of her gloves, which is illegal.

However, the referee didn’t agree, feeling the fingers were on the outside of Demopoulous’ gloves. While Demopoulos was complaining, she didn’t focus on defending the submission. Amorim was locked into an armbar and Demopoulos tapped out.

It was a frustrating loss for her, but she needs to learn to keep her cool when things go wrong if she wants to continue to find ways to win in the UFC.

Here’s a look at the rest of the fights on the card not listed above:

• Featherweight, Isaac Dulgarian win by submission (arm-triangle choke) over Brendon Marotte, Round 2 4:19
• Lightweight, Chris Padilla win by TKO (doctor stoppage) over Rong Zhu, Round 2 4:14
• Flyweight, Andre Lima win by decision over Felipe dos Santos, 30-27, 29-28 (x2)
• Featherweight, Gabriel Santos win by decision over Yi Zha, 30-26 (x2), 30-27
• Catchweight (188.5 pounds), Andre Petroski win by decision over Dylan Budka, 30-27 (x3)
• Featherweight, Nathan Fletcher win by submission (arm-triangle choke) over Zygimantas Ramaksa, Round 2 1:14

Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.

By Dean McHugh.