Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady: UFC 280 Odds, Prediction

Brady has climbed to a -140 favorite, while Muhammad lags at +110 ahead of this highly anticipated 170-pound matchup, which is scheduled to close out the UFC 280 undercard on early Saturday afternoon at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Belal Muhammad Odds

Unbeaten in eight octagon appearances, Belal Muhammad looks to Saturday’s clash pegged at No. 5 on the UFC welterweight rankings. Muhammad is coming off a fairly decisive five-round unanimous decision win in his recent rematch with Vicente Luque at UFC Vegas 51, which also marked his third straight fight decided by the judges.

Indeed, going the distance is nothing new for “Remember the Name”, who has seen 16 of his 21 career wins come by decision. A wrestling in his youth, Muhammad has consistently used his grappling skills to wear down opponents. That has been particularly evident over his past two fights against Luque and Stephen Thompson. Muhammad recorded a combined 12 total takedowns in those contests, and racked up a combined 19:26 of control to earn the nod from the judges in both those contests.

Muhammad’s takedown ability is only surpassed by his takedown defence. The 34-year-old American ranks second all-time among UFC welterweights, behind only Kamaru Usman, with a 91.7% takedown defence, and has been brought to the mat just three times in 16 career UC contests.

Sean Brady Odds

Sean Brady has wasted no time making major gains on the UFC welterweight rankings, rocketing to No. 8 after just five octagon appearances. The 29-year-old Philadelphia native has been idle since his most recent triumph, a three-round unanimous decision win over Michael Chiesa 11 months ago at UFC Vegas 43.

Overall, Brady has seen three of his first five UFC go the distance, and has received the nod from the judges in eight of his 15 career victories. However, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and Muay Thai practitioner has also demonstrated his ability to force opponents to tap out with recent submission victories over Jake Matthews and Christian Aguilera.

Indeed, Brady has been simply dominant on the mat, racking up over seven minutes of control time in three of his past four outings. He also ranks third time among UFC welterweights, with an average of just 29 seconds of bottom time per fight. Brady also sports skills as a striker. He counts three knockouts among his career wins, and ranks among the all-time welterweight leaders with a significant strike accuracy of 54.1%.

UFC 280 Prediction: Belal Muhammad vs. Sean Brady

Fans who enjoy action on the may should be in for a treat in what could shape up to be a marathon battle of endurance. But unlike Muhammad, Brady’s striking ability adds an additional dimension to his fight game, and should give him the edge in this battle of highly-ranked welterweights.

Sean Brady by points or technical decision (+150)