Belal Muhammad gave an extensive preview of a welterweight matchup he sees having massive implications.
Sean Brady (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) draws undefeated rising contender Michael Morales (18-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) at UFC 322 on Nov. 15 from Madison Square Garden.
“Morales, obviously undefeated, young, explosive, huge, great striker, great power, and he also has great wrestling,” Muhammad said on his YouTube channel. “Brady, (I) shared the cage with him. I know how tough he was, and he’s still growing, and got better since then.”
Brady has been on a tear, most recently a dominant submission of Leon Edwards at UFC Fight Night 255 in March. Muhammad advises him to implement a similar game plan against Morales.
“Keys to victory for Brady, obviously he has to get it to the ground,” Muhammad said. “You don’t want to stand on the feet with Morales. You don’t want to get hit by him. So for Brady, he has to use that high volume, push him backwards, get him on the fence. We saw (Neil) Magny get him on the fence a little bit. We see that Morales goes kind of wild with flying knees, spinning stuff, so Brady has to be very disciplined with his defense. Then when he gets ahold of him, don’t let go.
“Stay attached, stay in that zone, try to drag him down, and when you drag him down, don’t force anything because Morales will come with the explosiveness. You don’t want him to pop back up. You don’t want to waste your takedown. So if you do take him down, hold him down, use the positioning to wear on him a little bit, and hunt for that finish, hunt for that choke. Your top game is supposed to be really good – you showed it in your last couple of fights.”
When analyzing Morales’ strategy, Muhammad saw something from his TKO win over Brady, which he thinks the 26-year-old can expose.
“Morales, you’re long – you’re going to be a lot bigger,” Muhammad said. “You have to keep the center of the cage. Use your distance, use your power, use your hands. I don’t think Brady likes to get hit. So if you come out early, take the middle, take the center, stand there, plant your feet. Hit him once, hit him twice, see how he reacts to those. Kick him to the body – he keeps a high guard.
“Use those low kicks. Don’t let him grab you. Don’t let him push you to the fence. I think for Morales, you’ve got to stay off the fence. Brady’s very good with his takedowns on the fence. In the open, he’s not really that great at it. So if you keep him in the center, keep your foot in the center, and if you defend a couple of takedowns, don’t try and re-grapple with him. Just push him off, keep it standing, stay on your feet.”
Muhammad is going with the slight underdog – but he’s a little hesitant with his pick.
“This is a tough one, but I think I will go with Morales,” Muhammad said. “I think he’s going to be able to use his power, use his distance. It’s going to be a close fight, interesting fight, but I think Morales will be able to use that explosiveness to stay off the ground and will be able to keep his distance, and use his kicks, use his teeps, and use his hands, and hurt Brady a little bit. But I still think it’s 50-50.”
