Gabriel Bonfim comfortably got the better of the striking battle against former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad over five rounds tonight at UFC Fight Night 278 to win by unanimous decision.
Round One
The welterweight main event is underway in Las Vegas!
Bonfim takes the center of the Octagon to start. Inside leg kick from Muhammad. Pressure from Bonfim and Muhammad flicks out a head kick attempt.
One-two from Muhammad as Bonfim looked to engage. Nice punch from Muhammad.
Muhammad darts into another right hand. Fast body kick from Bonfim. Now one from Muhammad.
Calf kick for Bonfim. Right hand for Muhammad. Body kick from Bonfim. He lands a jab. Muhammad a bit short on a one-two.
Calf kick for Bonfim. Inside leg kick from Muhammad. Hard exchange of punches momentarily.
Calf kick for Bonfim again. Muhammad attempts a high kick. Bonfim comes close with a counter hook attempt.
Round Two
Calf kick for Bonfim but doesn’t land the one-two cleanly behind it. Back to the calf-kick again.
Muhammd looking to engage and Bonfim is firing off rapid-fire hooks for a moment.
Muhammad darting forward with a couple of punches. Calf kick again from Bonfim.
Body punch for Muhammad. Body kick for Bonfim. Inside leg kick from Muhammad.
Left hand lands for Muhammad. Calf kick from Bonfim. Both men land a punch at the same time.
A couple of punches from Bonfim as Muhammad lands a kick. More calf kicks from Bonfim now. Hard one-two from Muhammad as Bonfim again lands to the calf.
Muhammad looking for offense, but Bonfim catches him with a right hand.
Inside leg kick for Muhammad. Bonfim with a calf kick and a grazing hook behind it.
Round Three
Muhammad immediately drives into a takedown attempt, but Bonfim stuffs it and then laughs before getting back to striking range.
Jab for Bonfim and then snaps Muhammad’s head back with a right.
Bonfim continuing to land to Muhammad’s reddened calf. Jab for Bonfim as Muhammad loads up but misses in a power strike.
Bonfim punches and then a solid low kick again. Muhammad attempts a takedown, but nothing doing.
Bonfim grinning at Muhammad. He lands a good jab and then a thumping right hand that knocks Muhammad’s mouthguard out. Muhammad ate that punch well though under the circumstances and is good to go once his gumshield is recovered.
Bonfim with repeated calf kicks now. Swing and a miss from Muhammad. Kick to the body from Bonfim. Now he lands a powerful right hand.
Missed head kick from Muhammad. Muhammad tries to rush forward but Bonfim catches him with a four-punch series.
Another hard right hand for Bonfim snaps Muhammad’s head back late in the round. Bonfim grinning again as he passes Muhammad on his way to his corner.
Round Four
Jab for Bonfim. Bonfim is landing and Muhammad is struggling to do the same now without getting caught.
Body kick for Muhammad. Bonfim on the jab. A couple of punches from Muhammad now.
Body kick for Muhammad. Right hand connects during a flurry from Bonfim. Back to the jab.
More jabs from Bonfim as Muhammad tries for body kicks. Missed punches from Muhammad.
Body kick for Muhammad. He lands it again. He punches to the body now. Low kick for Bonfim.
Muhammad tries for a high kick off Bonfim’s jab. Good one-two for Bonfim, who is back to laughing again.
Kick from Muhammad. One in return from Bonfim. Muhammad barrels forward swinging hard but misses.
Bonfim dodges a strike and grins broadly yet again.
Round Five
Jab and a low kick for Bonfim. He snaps the jab again. Muhammad struggling to find his range. Good jab for Bonfim.
Body kick from Muhammad. A few missed strikes from him. Low kick from Bonfim.
Right hand for Muhammad. Leg kick for Muhammad. Another right for Muhammad.
Muhammad catches a kick, but Bonfim gets it free while landing a punch. One-two for Bonfim. Body kick from Muhammad.
Jab for Bonfim. Muhammad running out of ideas here. Final 60 seconds. Occasional jab still landing for Bonfim. Muhammad trying to load up, but not finding the mark. He lands a final kick.
Decision
The clearly confident Bonfim consistently got the better of the striking action against the former champion here and emerges with a clean-sweep unanimous decision victory (50-45 x3).
