{"id":720668,"date":"2026-06-07T08:31:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T08:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/720668\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T08:31:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T08:31:26","slug":"ufc-vegas-118-results-sooo-about-last-night-belal-vs-bonfim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/720668\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC Vegas 118 results: Sooo … About last night | Belal vs. Bonfim"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday (Sat., June 6, 2026), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned home to Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, for UFC Vegas 118<\/a>. In the main event, former Welterweight champion Belal Muhammad hoped to avoid a three-fight losing streak by turning away rising contender Gabriel Bonfim. The rest of the card was unusually stacked with good talent, as Brendan Allen, Fares Ziam, and Bryce Mitchell are all fairly accomplished ranked fighters who could genuinely make an impact in their division \u2014 not bad for the Apex!<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look back over the best performances and techniques of the evening:<\/p>\n

\"LAS<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 06: (R-L) Gabriel Bonfim of Brazil punches Belal Muhammad in a welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Meta APEX on June 06, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Gabriel Bonfim proved himself a genuine threat to the UFC Welterweight title.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t terribly long ago that Belal Muhammad was a UFC champion. A year prior to Muhammad\u2019s title win, Bonfim was gassing out terribly and getting knocked out by Nicholas Dalby, a respected veteran but somebody who never came anywhere close to title contention. For Bonfim to develop to the point that he\u2019s capable of putting on a five-round masterclass is very impressive, and it makes you wonder about the 28-year-old Brazilian\u2019s overall potential.<\/p>\n

This bout was dominated by range. Bonfim stranded Muhammad at the jab and kick distance, but he wasn\u2019t afraid to sit down on his counter shots. When Muhammad tried to \u201cBully\u201d his way back into the fight, Bonfim would fire counter combinations with both volume and ill intentions. In the process, he bloodied up Muhammad and convinced him to spend more time at range getting kicked to pieces.<\/p>\n

It was a whole lot more dominant than Ian Garry\u2019s win eight months ago. The Welterweight title mix is a logjam right now, so hopefully Islam Makhachev books a fight soon and these contenders can start squaring off with clear consequences on the line.<\/p>\n

\"LAS<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 06: (R-L) Brendan Allen punches Edmen Shahbazyan in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Meta APEX on June 06, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Brendan Allen took a major risk in facing unranked Edmen Shahbazyan rather than waiting for a more appropriate matchup.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, he won pretty clearly. Shahbazyan\u2019s jab was sharp from the first bell, but otherwise, he struggled to answer Allen\u2019s more diverse offense. \u201cAll In\u201d attacked with kicks, right hand leads, lots of elbows, knees from the clinch, and more! He continued to attack as the range shifted from distance to the pocket to the clinch and vice versa. Though the takedowns never really materialized, Allen landed the heavier shots and consistently kept Shahbazyan on the defensive.<\/p>\n

So \u2026 does this win matter much? It\u2019s great that Allen extended his win streak to three, but this was a reasonable competitive fight. It didn\u2019t look like No. 4 mopping the floor with some unranked random. Allen was calling for a title shot in his post-fight interview, but I don\u2019t know that this victory generated any momentum towards that goal.<\/p>\n

\"LAS<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 06: (R-L) Bryce Mitchell knees Santiago Luna in a bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Meta APEX on June 06, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Santiago Luna has a lot of the technical tools and physical gifts you would look for in a fighter hoping to defeat Bryce Mitchell. A physically dynamic athlete and accomplished wrestler, Luna has natural knockout power in a way that \u201cThug Nasty\u201d simply cannot match. Unfortunately, he\u2019s also 21 years old and took this fight on less than two weeks notice.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, Luna fell into many traps, which moved this fight from competitive matchup to one-sided domination. Early on, he willingly tried to take down Mitchell for no real reason, and he wound up on his back for four minutes as result. Why wrestle the jiu-jitsu ace? Luna is accustomed to finishing his boxing combinations by shooting or clinching, because that\u2019s his typical strategy.<\/p>\n

Against Mitchell, it backfired badly.<\/p>\n

Both men ended up on bottom at some point, and the different levels of comfort were clear. Luna could do little more than hold on, as he wasn\u2019t confident enough to risk his neck scrambling. Mitchell, conversely, was throwing up triangle attempts and trying to wrestle into top position, keeping Luna defensive even from bad positions. Late in the fight, Luna tried for a Hail Mary d\u2019arce choke attempt, a display of pure inexperience that landed him on bottom and saw him submitted at the bell.<\/p>\n

Luna is still a great prospect, but hopefully, some lessons are learned here for \u201cBorder Boy.\u201d As for Mitchell, the notable improvement was his gas tank, which looked much healthier in his second cut down to Bantamweight compared to his divisional debut a few months ago.<\/p>\n

\"LAS<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 06: (L-R) Iwo Baraniewski of Poland punches Junior Tafa of Australia in a light heavyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Meta APEX on June 06, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Poland\u2019s Next Champion?<\/p>\n

I generally don\u2019t put much weight into beating Ibo Aslan, Austen Lane, or Junior Tafa \u2014 that\u2019s pretty much the bottom of the Light Heavyweight ranks, a division in dire shape. Still, I have to give Iwo Baraniewski his due. He\u2019s running through this class of competition like a superheated knife through room temperature butter!<\/p>\n

Opposite Tafa, Baraniewski was unusually patient, which meant the fight lasted nearly 90 full seconds. Rather than charge forward and trade with the power puncher, Baraniewski slammed home a couple ripping calf kicks at distance. It didn\u2019t take many to cripple Tafa and send him to the canvas, where a hail of ground strikes officially sealed the deal.<\/p>\n

Now 9-0 with nine first-round finishes, Baraniewski is still a mystery but has obvious talent. Maybe it\u2019s time for a gritty, ranked veteran like Alonzo Menifield?<\/p>\n

\"MEXICO<\/a><\/p>\n

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – FEBRUARY 28: (L-R) Edgar Chairez of Mexico punches Felipe Bunes of Brazil in a flyweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Arena CDMX on February 28, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Jeff Bottari\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

An Unlikely Flyweight Contender<\/p>\n

Edgar Chairez punched his ticket into the Top 15 by clubbing-and-subbing Flyweight veteran Bruno Silva.<\/p>\n

In the opening exchanges, Silva seemed to have a small edge, timing Chairez\u2019s jab and countering with his right hand. 30 seconds later, however, that jab was finding the mark like a piston. His jab has never looked better, and Silva\u2019s nose was soon bloodied from just a handful of snapping shots.<\/p>\n

Chairez didn\u2019t just jab, quickly building on that rangefinder with a cracking right hand that sat his opponent down. Silva, living up to his \u201cBulldog\u201d moniker, popped back up and tried to press the action even harder. As a result, Chairez continued to crack him with jabs then timed a nasty uppercut counter. The second knockdown left Silva dazed and confused, highly vulnerable to the rear naked choke finish.<\/p>\n

After seven UFC fights, Chairez has established himself as a dangerous finisher and is clearly improving at 30 years of age. He\u2019s only lost to Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira \u2014 arguably the best two fighters in the division! \u2014 in that span. If he can continue to grow at this rate, perhaps he earns a rematch with one of those two young talents in the not-too-distant future.<\/p>\n

\"LAS<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 06: Joanderson Brito of Brazil reacts after defeating Jordan Leavitt in a featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at Meta APEX on June 06, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Alessandro Costa defeats Matt Schnell via first-round knockout: Yeah \u2026 Schnell is just not a very durable fighter, and Costa hits quite hard. How much further analysis is needed? Costa understood the dynamic at hand well, waiting patiently for his opportunity to step up the middle with a heavy 3-2 midway through the first. Schnell did a chicken dance, and the referee moved in seconds later. Maybe the emotional retirement should\u2019ve stuck<\/a>, as Schnell has now lost five of his last six all via finish.Chelsea Chandler defeats Priscila Cachoeira via first-round armbar: The early goings did not look great for Chandler, who still lives in the shadow of her infamous sprint away from Norma Dumont. Early on, Cachoeira was pressing with wide swings while denying the takedown entries. Demonstrating some improved comfort, however, Chandler actually fired back while getting pushed towards the cage. In a surprise moment, she dropped Cachoeira with a counter! Once on the canvas, Chandler smoothly glided around her opponent, advancing position into a high mount. She very comfortably inched towards the armbar, eventually dropping back and forcing a quick tap from the brawler.Joanderson Brito defeats Jordan Leavitt via first-round guillotine choke (highlights)<\/a>: When Brito fought Pat Sabatini last year \u2014 a similar grinding top player to Leavitt \u2014 the Brazilian failed to adjust, getting himself taken down by throwing naked kicks and jumping on bad guillotines. This time, he adjusted really well to his foe\u2019s wrestling pressure, sprawling heavily and forcing Leavitt to waste energy with his clinch wrestling. On the break, Brito was still a bit too wild with his swings, but he at least kept his hips ready to sprawl. He began catching Leavitt with big swings in the final minute of the round, and this time, he fully stuffed Leavitt\u2019s double attempt before wrapping up his neck. That\u2019s a key difference, as it allowed Brito to fully attack the strangle without first giving up top position. Now 7-3 in the Octagon overall and riding a two-fight win streak, it still feels like Brito has the potential to gain a spot in the Featherweight rankings.Ketlen Souza defeats Arianne Carnelossi via first-round knockout (highlights)<\/a>: There was an interesting dynamic in appearance versus effectiveness. Carnelossi is jacked, and she came out swinging punches aggressively, trying to take out her opponent from the first bell. Souza, however, demonstrated a clear difference in hand speed and punching fluidity as soon as she fired back, cracking Carnelossi with multiple punches in combination to sit her down. Carnelossi tried to pop right back up but ate a head kick for her efforts, earning Souza revenge seven years after their first collision on the regional scene.For complete UFC Vegas 118 results and play-by-play, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yesterday (Sat., June 6, 2026), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned home to Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":720669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,40762,785,85,1396,179146,6656],"class_list":["post-720668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-latest-ufc-mma-news","tag-mma","tag-sports","tag-ufc-news","tag-ufc-on-paramount","tag-ufc-results"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=720668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/720669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=720668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=720668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=720668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}