Jordan Burroughs Techs Sean Brady 11-0 in RAF 12 Wrestling Return
The Olympic gold medalist needed under two periods to shut out the UFC's No. 6 welterweight, then signed a three-match RAF deal with a September date in Moscow.
By FightSplit Editorial Team · Published Aug 23, 2026

Two years off the mat didn't slow Jordan Burroughs down one bit. At RAF 12, the Olympic gold medalist needed less than two full periods to blank UFC welterweight contender Sean Brady, closing out an 11-0 tech fall that never felt in doubt.
Brady walked in as the No. 6-ranked welterweight in the UFC, sporting a 19-2 record and a reputation as one of the promotion's slickest grapplers. But he'd never wrestled competitively before, and against one of the best American freestyle wrestlers ever, that gap showed up fast and stayed open.
How It Unfolded
Burroughs got on the board early with a step-out point, then reminded everyone why his double-leg is a signature move. He shot deep, hoisted Brady off the mat and slammed him down for a five-point score. Just like that, the math was already ugly.
Brady, to his credit, kept coming. He stalked Burroughs across the mats and tried to catch him lunging in, but the counter never landed. Instead he got a leg caught, gave up another push-out, and trailed 7-0 at the end of the first period.
The second period lasted about as long as it took Burroughs to line up another blast double. He mowed Brady down for four more points, pushing the score to 11-0 and triggering the tech fall. Match over.
This wasn't a case of Burroughs coasting on pedigree. He stayed on the offensive throughout, refusing to sit on his lead even when Brady pressed forward looking for something to change the picture.
What It Means
For Brady, there's no shame in this one. Coming off a unanimous-decision win over Joaquin Buckley, he stepped onto foreign turf against a legitimate all-time great and took the risk anyway. His UFC standing doesn't move an inch — he's still sixth in a stacked division, with a booking against Gabriel Bonfim waiting on the other side of this crossover experiment.
Burroughs, meanwhile, looked like a man with plenty left. He said afterward that he's headed to Moscow on Sept. 5 and is open to a third match, having inked a three-match deal with RAF. He struck a grateful note, thanking Brady for even agreeing to the bout.
The whole thing fits a growing trend of UFC names trying their hand at pure grappling under the RAF banner. Gilbert Burns, now retired from MMA at 22-10, has already flirted with a crossover. Michael Page, the No. 13 welterweight, is slated to face Alexander Shlemenko at RAF 14 on Oct. 3 in Las Vegas.
For fans, these matches are a clean way to test how MMA skills translate to a single discipline. The answer here was blunt: elite wrestling beats elite grappling-that-isn't-wrestling, every time, and the scoreboard rarely lies about it.
Brady goes back to his day job with a valuable lesson in what a takedown from a genuine wrestling machine feels like. Bonfim should take note. And Burroughs? He's got a plane to catch and two more matches to fill.
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