There might not be a higher compliment for a grappler in the UFC than catching the attention of Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion and top UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns.
Sean Brady did just that this past Saturday with his dominant submission win over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC on ESPN 52 in Austin, Texas. Burns was taken away by the level of grappling Brady displayed.
“I was very, very impressed,” Burns told MMA Junkie in an interview facilitated by Stake.com. “We have a lot of common friends, me and Sean Brady, so I’ve heard he’s very, very good. Whenever I saw that first round and I saw he took down Kelvin Gastelum so easy, I kind of predicted that he’s going to take him down over and over again, and he’s going to be on top.
“I said, I didn’t tweet it out or anything, but I thought he might get a finish by the end of the fight because Kelvin is going to get so tired by the end of the fight because Kelvin is going to get so tired by that pressure from top. I thought eventually Sean Brady was going to cook him and get a finish. But wow, I was impressed with the way Sean Brady did.”
This was an important fight for Brady, given that it marked his return to the cage in more than a year. The last time he was seen in the octagon prior to Saturday, Brady suffered his first professional defeat by TKO to Belal Muhammad at UFC 280.
Burns believes that fight would look much different if they were to fight again.
“I think if Sean Brady fights Belal Muhammad again, that fight might be different,” Burns said. “I heard from Sean Brady that he got so messed up with the jet lag and all the things. That’s another one that I want to see again.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.
