Former UFC welterweight champion and Chicago native Belal Muhammad had no solutions for Brazil’s Gabriel Bonfim, who secured his twentieth win in 21 MMA fights by securing a unanimous resolution (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) win in the primary occasion of UFC Battle Night time in Las Vegas on Saturday night time.
Bonfim (20-1) used crisp boxing to bloody and batter Muhammad’s nostril all through the 25-minute battle.
By way of a translator, Bonfim confirmed respect to Muhammad (24-6, 1 NC) for his toughness and resolve, thanking him for a aggressive battle.
“Our recreation plan, we put it (into) perfection, and it occurred,” Bonfim stated following the win.
Bonfim (20-1) stated he desires to stay “energetic,” teasing a attainable battle with fellow former champion Jack Della Maddalena down the highway.
Muhammad turned the UFC welterweight titleholder in July 2024 towards Leon Edwards at UFC 304, however could not capitalize on the championship momentum with back-to-back losses (and relinquishing his title) following the career-defining second coming into Saturday’s contest.
The middleweight co-main occasion noticed an all-action placing affair between Brendan Allen of Brazil and Edmen Shahbazyan, which ended with Allen sustaining his top-five rating. Allen (27-7) earned a unanimous resolution win, taking the playing cards 30-27, 29-28, 30-27. Shahbazyan (16-6) had his three-fight successful streak halted, as he had not misplaced since August 2024.
In a back-and-forth light-weight affair, Australian Tom Nolan overcame Frenchman Fares Ziam by unanimous resolution, taking the playing cards 29-28, 29-28, 29-28. Nolan (11-1) prolonged his successful streak to 5, dragging Ziam right into a grueling battle primarily spent in quite a few grappling exchanges whereas additionally mixing up strikes on the toes. Ziam (18-5) noticed his six-fight unbeaten streak finish, which had lasted since September 2022.
At bantamweight, Bryce Mitchell discovered a gap within the closing seconds of the third spherical to safe an arm-triangle submission win over Mexico’s Santiago Luna. Mitchell (19-4) has earned 10 wins by submission, handing Luna (8-1) his first loss as an expert. Mitchell stays unbeaten since shifting to bantamweight after initially coming into the promotion at featherweight. Luna accepted the battle on a couple of week’s discover, as Mitchell was initially slated to battle Victor Henry, who withdrew for undisclosed causes.
Mild heavyweight Iwo Baraniewski of Poland wanted 1:25 to increase his first-round ending streak to 9, using consecutive leg kicks adopted by ground-and-pound to safe a TKO of Australian Justin Tafa to start the primary card. Baraniewski (9-0) stated he is thinking about a prime 15 opponent and a fast turnaround for his subsequent battle, whereas Tafa (7-6) has dropped three of his final 4 UFC appearances.
–Area Stage Media
