Gabriel Bonfim earned the biggest win of his UFC career with a shutout against former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.
Bonfim defeated Muhammad via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) in the UFC Fight Night main event Saturday at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
The 170-pound up-and-comer dictated the fight in the stand-up department, beating Muhammad to the punch in several exchanges and bloodying him with hard shots. He outlanded Muhammad in each round and by a 128-86 margin overall.
After the victory, Bonfim called out former champion Jack Della Maddalena.
The 28-year-old Brazilian, who was ranked No. 11 in the division coming in, is now riding a five-fight winning streak and is 7-1 in the Octagon overall.
The win over Muhammad firmly entrenches Bonfim in the welterweight title picture. However, the top of the division is crowded at the moment, with Ian Machado Garry, Michael Morales, and Carlos Prates all waiting for a crack at Islam Makhachev's title. Makhachev is rumored to be headlining UFC 330 in August against a yet-to-be-announced opponent.
Saturday's performance was a good sign for Bonfim's prospects as a title contender, as he went five rounds for the first time in his career and looked fresh at the end of the fight.
Muhammad, 37, has lost three in a row for the first time in his 31-fight career. The Chicago native won the welterweight title against Leon Edwards in July 2024 but has since lost to Della Maddalena, Machado Garry, and now Bonfim.
