Former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad returns this Saturday in the Octagon. He takes on Gabriel Bonfim at the Meta Apex in the welterweight division. For Muhammad, the fight against Bonfim is a must-win to stay among the elite in the division.
Going into the fight, Muhammad is a -120 betting favorite. His Brazilian nemesis comes in as a +100 slight underdog. Muhammad is the #5-ranked welterweight in the UFC. Bonfim comes in at #11. The fight is the main event on Saturday’s UFC Vegas 118 card.
Belal Muhammad Needs To Win To Keep His Eyes On A New Title Shot
Muhammad had a long run to the top in the UFC. The American-born Palestinian signed as an undefeated fighter with the UFC in 2016 after winning the Titan FC title. Muhammad started his UFC career with a loss against Alan Jouban. The fight was entertaining and received the Fight of the Night honors from the UFC. Two months after his debut, Muhammad won his first fight in the UFC. Via knockout, he beat Augusto Montaño.
Muhammad stayed active and suffered his only loss by finishing right before the end of the year. Vicente Luque knocked out Muhammad in the first round. A painful loss for the proud Chicago-based fighter, but he was able to bounce back with four consecutive wins. He beat opponents like Randy Brown and Tim Means and got matched up against Geoff Neal. Neal was one of the newer up-and-comers in the division and beat Muhammad via unanimous decision.
Just like before the Neal fight, Muhammad won four consecutive fights and got an opportunity to take on Leon Edwards. Edwards had the upper hand in the first round, but poked Muhammad unintentionally in the eye in the second round. Muhammad couldn’t see anymore and therefore couldn’t continue. The fight was declared a no-contest. Muhammad was livid and felt that a big opportunity to climb in the rankings was taken from him.
Between 2019 and 2024 went on an 11-fight unbeaten streak
He was determined to get to the top of the division, and after wins against Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson, he got his rematch against Vicente Luque. Muhammad looked focused and won the rematch via a clear unanimous decision. In October 2022, Muhammad got matched up against the then-unbeaten Sean Brady. Muhammad finished Brady via TKO in the second round and made his case for a title shot. The UFC still didn’t seem to be interested and matched him up against Gilbert Burns.
Muhammad was dominant again, and after another clear, unanimous decision win, he finally got his shot at the title. Old nemesis Leon Edwards was the champion. The rematch took place in England. Muhammad implemented his game plan with lots of pressure, takedowns, and ground control to become the UFC welterweight champion. A big success for Muhammad. He was supposed to defend his title against unbeaten Shavkat Rakhmonov, but the Kazakh got injured and was replaced by Australian Jack Della Maddalena.
In one of the best fights of 2025, Muhammad lost his belt via unanimous decision to Della Maddalena. Muhammad wasn’t able to bounce back late last year and lost also to Ian Machado Garry via unanimous decision. It was the first time in his professional career that Muhammad lost two fights in a row. This Saturday, he is back and looks to break his negative streak against Gabriel Bonfim. A win keeps Muhammad in the top 5 in the division. A loss against Bonfim might be fatal for future title aspirations. Muhammad will be 38 years old in July, so the time is now.
UFC Vegas 118 – June 6
Main Card (8 pm ET)
- Belal Muhammad vs. Gabriel Bonfim
- Brendan Allen vs. Edmen Shahbazyan
- Farès Ziam vs. Tom Nolan
- Bryce Mitchell vs. Santiago Luna
- Iwo Baraniewski vs. Junior Tafa
Preliminary Card (5 pm ET)
- Matt Schnell vs. Alessandro Costa
- Marcus McGhee vs. John Yannis
- Bruno Silva vs. Édgar Cháirez
- Priscila Cachoeira vs. Chelsea Chandler
- Jordan Leavitt vs. Joanderson Brito
- Jeisla Chaves vs. Yuneisy Duben
- Ketlen Souza vs. Ariane Carnelossi
UFC Vegas 118 is streaming live and exclusively on Paramount+.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Belal Muhammad Must Win to Stay Among the Welterweight Elite appeared first on HEAVY.