While Belal Muhammad is still waiting for the UFC to give him the title shot it promised to him, CEO Dana White announced that the fight between Sean Brady and Vicente Luque will be a welterweight contender fight. The pair will face each other to headline the UFC Fight Night on March 30 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Muhammad has been waiting for a rematch against champ Leon Edwards after their last fight ended without a decision due to an eye-poking incident. After Edwards secured the belt, Muhammad made repeated remarks to announce his intent to challenge the Briton. According to “Remember The Name,” he even took the fight against Gilbert Burns to secure the title shot, and he even accepted the role as a backup when Edwards faced Colby Covington at UFC 296. Despite this and his impressive five-winning streak, the promotion remains mum about his status as the title challenger.
Then, this week, White announced that the company booked the Brady vs. Luque for a contender fight.
Luque comes from a canceled fight he was supposed to have against Ian Machado Garry, who withdrew at UFC 296 due to his illness. “The Silent Assassin” hopes to extend his win over Rafael dos Anjos, whom he defeated via a unanimous decision last August. Meanwhile, Brady will be entering the cage after a recent submission victory over Kelvin Gastelum the previous month.
As White mentioned, the two will be fighting in a contender bout, but for Brady, it is undeniable that Muhammad is the rightful fighter to claim the title shot. The 31-year-old faced Muhammad in 2022 and lost via TKO. Given the fellow fighter’s records and achievements, Brady believes that there’s no one more deserving of getting the shot at Edwards than Muhammad.
“They haven’t announced it, but there’s nobody else,” Brady said on The Joe Rogan Experience. “He deserves it. He’s beaten the most guys in the top 10. He deserves it, and I think he has a good chance of doing really well. It’s there for him. He deserves it, and he should get it, and I’m happy for him.”
