Philadelphia's Sean Brady solidified himself as one of the top welterweights in the world on Saturday, outpointing Gilbert Burns in a five-round main event in Las Vegas. Brady (17-1) defeated Burns (22-8) via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC Fight Night inside the Apex. Brady, 31, maintained a steady pace throughout the five-round fight and dominated Burns in every aspect of the 170-pound contest. The judges scored it 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 for Brady.

The win improved Brady's mark in the UFC to 7-1. His only loss came to current champion Belal Muhammad in October 2022. "He's tough as f---, but I feel like I did better work on the feet than on the ground," said Brady, who is known for his wrestling style. "He was tough to get down and strong against the fence. I should be ranked way ahead of [No. 7-ranked Ian Machado Garry] now. Obviously, I want someone in the top five [next]."

Pace was Brady's friend on Saturday, as he maintained a steady volume of strikes and takedown attempts against Burns. According to UFC Stats, he outlanded Burns 251-71 in total strikes and attempted 17 takedowns to only six for Burns. He effectively worked his jab in the first half of the fight, and highlighted a fifth and final round with a steady diet of effective leg kicks.

Burns, who unsuccessfully challenged Kamaru Usman for the championship in 2021, struggled to get anything going over the 25-minute affair. He had a couple moments with boxing exchanges on the feet, including a right hand that appeared to stun Burns a little bit in the second round, but his moments were few and far between. He also had a brief window of opportunity in the fourth round, when he nearly took Brady's back in a scramble in the final minute. Brady calmly defended the position though and went on to win the frame. Burns has lost three in a row -- to Brady, Jack Della Maddalena and Muhammad.

Muhammad does not have a title defense booked but is expected to face undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov next.

A More Complete Game

In the main event, Sean Brady showed a more complete game in his first UFC main event than he did in his past seven UFC outings. Brady, known for his grappling skills, fought well behind his jab against former UFC welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns, adding some combinations to his striking game while picking up takedowns and ground control at important points of the UFC Fight Night headlining contest.

Brady, who is a phenomenal grappler, added some new wrinkles to his striking game at UFC Vegas 97, fighting well behind his jab, and even adding some combinations to his repertoire, when he had time and space to employ his striking effectvily. He also did an excellent job of negating Burns's striking, limiting him to just 47 landed significant strikes on 97 attempts. For his part, Brady racked up 130 significant strikes on 217 attempts.

Brady also landed seven takedowns and earned 10:34 of control time. The win against Burns should elevate Brady into the title conversation in the ultra-competitive welterweight ranks, giving him momentum for his next fight.

Beyond The Main Event

Following an entertaining collection of preliminary card bouts, the level of action ramped up as things shifted to the main card on Saturday. Kicking off with a competitive clash at lightweight, a pair of impressive finishes followed before Brazilian standouts battled in the flyweight division and Top 10 talents in the welterweight division fought tooth-and-nail for 25 minutes to wrap up the evening.

With Noche UFC on tap next weekend, this was an outstanding lead in to the highly anticipated pay-per-view event at The Sphere.

An Explosive Night of Fights

Yanal Ashmouz and Trevor Peek opened the main card with a competitive back-and-forth in the lightweight division. This was a clash of styles that played out true to form, with the grappler Ashmouz working diligently to get Peek on the canvas, while the Dana White’s Contender Series grad looked to land his signature big swings whenever the two were in space. Both had their moments in their respective phases, though neither was able to have enough dominance at any point to make it clear who was ahead on the cards. When the tens and nines were added up, it was Ashmouz that emerged victorious, earning the nod on all three cards. This was a hard fought victory for the 29-year-old “Red Fox,” who moved to 2-1 in the UFC and 8-1 overall with the win.

After spending the entire first round slugging it out on the feet, Cody Durden showed his submission skills early in the second, tapping out Matt Schnell with a gnarly anaconda choke. For the opening five minutes of this short-notice pairing, Durden and Schnell traded leather without pause, each man landing clean shots and happily continuing to wade into the fray. Out of the chute to begin the second, Schnell shot from a mile away and Durden read it perfectly, sprawling and latching onto a anaconda choke right away, rolling with “Danger” as he looked to wriggle free and forcing him to tap. This is a tremendous win for Durden, who took the fight on four days notice and got himself moving in the right direction in impressive fashion after getting knocked out in his last outing. An all-action fighter, the Covington, Georgia native is now 5-2 over his last seven, and could find himself back in the rankings after this one.

Make it five straight finishes for Steve Garcia! Garcia actually slipped and was stuck with Kyle Nelson on his back throughout the opening two minutes of the fight, but the second he was able to twist into the Canadian’s guard, the streaking finisher went off. A non-stop torrent of elbows streamed down, leaving Nelson desperate to find cover, but unable to stem the tide, resulting in referee Mark Smith calling a halt to the action. After starting his career 1-2 in the UFC, the 32-year-old has rattled off five straight stoppage wins, including two this year. It’s been an impressive string of performances from Garcia over the last couple years, and he should be drawing closer to a matchup with a Top 15 opponent after racking up yet another finish here.

The all-Brazilian flyweight battle between Natalia Silva and Jessica Andrade was every bit as action-packed as anticipated, with Silva registering the biggest win of her career in the co-main event. Throughout the contest, Silva operated on the outside of the cage, using her movement, speed, and more diverse arsenal of offensive weapons to out-land her compatriot over all three rounds. The longer the fight progressed, the more Silva distanced herself from Andrade, showing an ability to take a shot while forcing the former strawweight champion to chase the whole way through. With the unanimous decision win, Silva moved to 6-0 inside the Octagon while extending her winning streak to a dozen overall, establishing herself as a contender in the process. Things are starting to get crowded at the top of the flyweight division, but all that means is that we should get a slew of outstanding fights in the 125-pound ranks to close 2024 and kick off next year.

What's Next

The event was a testament to the high level of competition in the UFC, showcasing the rise of new stars and the resilience of established veterans. There were some exciting finishes and close battles that had fans on the edge of their seats throughout the night. With the highly anticipated Noche UFC on tap next weekend, the world of MMA is buzzing with excitement for another action-packed event.