Anik: Brady-Buckley loser at UFC 328 will lose years in title picture

Jon Anik has a little concern for whoever walks away disappointed in a key welterweight tilt coming up.

Sean Brady (18-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) takes on Joaquin Buckley (21-7 MMA, 11-5 UFC) in a little more than two weeks at UFC 328 (Paramount+) at Prudential Center in Newark. The 170-pound showdown is in a prime spot on the main card.

Brady was on a three-fight winning streak, including a submission of former champion Leon Edwards at UFC Fight Night 255, but was stopped by Michael Morales at UFC 322 this past November for his first setback in three years. Ex-champ Belal Muhammad is his only other loss.

Buckley had six straight wins, including over huge names in Stephen Thompson, Colby Covington and Vicente Luque. But his streak was ended when he was grinded out by former champion Kamaru Usman nearly a year ago.

With both welterweights in need of a rebound, longtime UFC play-by-play voice Jon Anik thinks a loss sets someone back a long time in terms of a title chase – but he loves the fight for its implications.

"I really believe in Buckley," Anik told MMA Junkie Radio. "I know he's dealing with that Kamaru Usman result, and we'll try to spin it forward to the positive. But Sean Brady, not far from home, trying to put that Michael Morales result behind him? I mean, there have been two critical losses in Sean Brady's career: Belal Muhammad and Michael Morales. But he responded in kind after the Belal fight and I really expect him to put his best foot forward.

"I believe both of these guys have championship potential at welterweight."

But the issue will be a loss will give one of them two straight setbacks, and that could put the title potential nail in the coffin for the loser for an extended period.

Brady sits at No. 6 in the UFC's official welterweight rankings; Buckley is No. 9. Champ Islam Kamhachev lords over the division, but below him is a proverbial murderer's row of elite 170-pounders.

"It's a hard time to be a welterweight contender," Anik said. "Just ask Mike Malott, right? Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena fighting guys like Gilbert (Burns), Gabriel Bonfim and Carlos Prates on the way up – it's hard to be a welterweight contender right now.

"If Sean Brady or Joaquin Buckley suffers a successive loss here, you know, it's a two-year championship setback. So I think given the stakes and given the state of the welterweight division, that one jumps off the card."

Brady is more than a 2-1 betting favorite in the fight at UFC 328, which is headlined by a middleweight title fight between champ Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: