Following a run of two consecutive losses, former UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad will return to the octagon with victory in sight once more when he faces the rising Gabriel Bonfim at UFC Fight Night at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
The main card is set to commence at 02:00pm (CAT, GMT+2).
With the UFC sifting out opponents for a shot at Islam Makhachev’s belt, Muhammad (24-5-0) comes into the fight as the fifth-highest-ranked fighter in the Welterweight division, while Bonfim will hope to crack the top 10 as he currently occupies 11th spot.
Muhammad claimed the UFC Welterweight title from Leon Edwards at UFC304 on 27 July 2024, where he won the judges’ approval through a unanimous decision in Manchester, England.
The 37-year-old then lost the belt in his very next fight after Jack Della Maddalena claimed a unanimous decision win at UFC315 on 10 May 2025. Muhammad continued to falter thereafter as he suffered another unanimous decision loss against Ian Machado Garry at ‘UFC Fight Night: Tsarukyan v Hooker’ on 22 November 2025 in Qatar.
Bonfim (19-1-0), a former Dana White Contender Series graduate, won each of his last four bouts, with the most recent being a knockout win over Randy Brown at ‘UFC Fight Night: Bonfim v Brown’ on 8 November 2025, where he claimed the Performance of the Night award.
As one of the highlights of his career, the 28-year-old bagged a split decision win against the popular Steven ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at ‘UFC on ESPN: Lewis v Teixeira’ on 12 July 2025.
Known for his well-rounded ability, Bonfim has recorded knockout, decision and submission wins in three out of his last four fights.
In the co-main event, former Dana White’s Contender Series challengers Brendan Allen and Edmen Shahbazyan will feature in the Middleweight division.
Allen last recorded a short-notice stoppage win over Reinier de Ridder on 18 October 2025, while he also featured in a unanimous decision victory against Marvin Vettori three months prior.
Elsewhere, Bryce Mitchel will compete in the Bantamweight division for just the second time in his career as he takes on the highly-rated, undefeated prospect Santiago Luna.
As a former featherweight fighter, Mitchel moved down a division recently as he recorded a unanimous decision win over Said Nurmagomedov in his first Bantamweight bout.
UFC Fight Night Main Card:
Belal Muhammad vs Gabriel Bonfim (Main event – Welterweight)
Brandan Allen vs Edmen Shahbazyan (Co-main – Middleweight)
Fares Ziam vs Tom Nolan (Lightweight)
Bryce Mitchell vs Santiago Luna (Bantamweight)
Iwo Baraniewski vs Junior Tafa (Light Heavyweight)