Sean Brady has opened up about the chaotic fight week that preceded his first-round stoppage loss to Michael Morales at UFC 322 in November at Madison Square Garden.
Brady, who returns this Saturday against Joaquin Buckley in a welterweight bout at UFC 328, said he arrived in New York feeling fully prepared. "Yeah, it’s crazy, I had a great camp," Brady said, before explaining that issues with the New York State Athletic Commission left his fight status in limbo.
"Like I won’t say too many details about it, [but it was] something with medicals to where we found out on Thursday that the fight might not happen," Brady revealed. "So it was up in the air for the next two days if this fight was even going to happen, and, ultimately, Saturday night, like right before I left for the fight, is when I found out I was still fighting."
Brady admitted the uncertainty affected him mentally but refused to use it as an excuse. "So it was hard to stay fully locked in, but that’s my fault. I should have been fully committed and fully locked in," he said. "Morales still went out there, he did his thing, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does in the division."
Reflecting on past setbacks, Brady compared the reaction to his loss to Morales to his earlier defeat against Belal. "When I lost to Belal, everyone shit on me, shit on Belal. Belal went on to be a UFC world champion," Brady said, adding that he believes Morales "is going to be on the same path."
