UFC Vegas 97 Results: Sean Brady outworks Gilbert Burns to leap up the middleweight rankings

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Sean Brady climbed the middleweight rankings after earning the points on the judges scorecard against Glibert Burns in the headliner of UFC Vegas 97: Burns vs. Brady at the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas on Saturday (September 7).

The 12-fight card saw 6 fights, including the headliners, go the distance, while six fights ended in stoppages. Among the 6 finishes, two were either knockout (KO) or technical knockout (TKO), and 4 were submission wins.

The co-main event fight between Jessica Andrade and Natalia Silva picked up the fight of the night award, while Steve Garcia and Cody Durden took home an extra USD50K for their respective stoppage wins on the main card. Here is the recap for the UFC on ESPN 62 event:

UFC Vegas 97 Recap

In the main event, two amazingly talented middleweight grapplers, No. 6 ranked Burns and No. 8 ranked Brady, showed off their prowess in all aspects of MMA in a pivotal fight.

Brady controlled with wrestling, while Burns used his shoots to clinch, and both used their striking to punctuate the exchanges. As the fight went deep into the late rounds, Brady's boxing, output, and takedowns forced Burns into defense mode, and it won him the unanimous decision.

After the win, Brady said, "Gilbert's tough and I knew that coming into this fight. I had to train so hard, I stayed mentally and physically focused. I had a bit more motivation: I found out my wife's pregnant, I'm going to have a baby girl. I'm living my dreams, this is amazing!"

All-action women's flyweight rankers No. 6 Jessica Andrade and No. 8 Natalia Silva put on a thriller of a fight in the co-main event. Silva came in with technique and kicks, and Andrade responded with her dirty aggression.

Silva adapted to the pressure and launched a successful offense of combinations and flashy kicks that earned her the nod from all three judges. After taking out the former strawweight champion Andrade and her #6 ranking, Silva demanded for a title shot.

"I lost my sister recently, four months ago, and I wanted to send a message. If any of you fall into the world of drugs, please understand you are still loved, you are worth it," Silva said at the post-fight Octagon interview.

On the fight against Andrade and future title shot, Silva added, "I knew her strategy would be to pressure me and I'd be running around the Octagon. Dana, I came here to be a champion. I want that shot!"

Also on the main card, Steve Garcia stopped Kyle Nelson in the first round of a catchweight bout after Cody Durden forced Matt Schnell to tap out to an anaconda choke in the second round of a bantamweight bout.

In the main card opener, Yanal Ashmouz outpointed Trevor Peek for the decision win in a lightweight bout after Chris Padilla closed the preliminary card with a doctor's stoppage against Rongzhu.

The prelims also saw Isaac Dulgarian, Jaqueline Amorim and Nathan Fletcher claim stoppage wins, while Andre Lima, Gabriel Santos and Andre Petroski earned decision wins in their respective fights. Here is a look at the final results of UFC Fight Night on September 7:

UFC Vegas 97 Results

• Welterweight Bout: Sean Brady defeated Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46)
• Women's Flyweight Bout: Natalia Silva defeated Jessica Andrade by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Catchweight (148.5 lb) Bout: Steve Garcia defeated Kyle Nelson by TKO (elbows) at 3:59 of Round 1
• Bantamweight Bout: Cody Durden defeated Matt Schnell by submission (anaconda choke) at 0:29 of Round 2
• Lightweight Bout: Yanal Ashmouz defeated Trevor Peek by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Lightweight Bout: Chris Padilla defeated Rongzhu by TKO (doctor stoppage) at 4:14 of Round 2
• Featherweight Bout: Isaac Dulgarian defeated Brendon Marotte by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:19 of Round 2
• Flyweight Bout: Andre Lima defeated Felipe dos Santos by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Featherweight Bout: Gabriel Santos defeated Yizha by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
• Women's Strawweight Bout: Jaqueline Amorim defeated Vanessa Demopoulos by submission (armbar) at 3:28 of Round 1
• Catchweight (188.5 lb) Bout: Andre Petroski defeated Dylan Budka by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Featherweight Bout: Nathan Fletcher defeated Zygimantas Ramaska by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 1:14 of Round 2