John
Brannigan/Sherdog.com illustration
Gabriel
Bonfim is becoming a serious problem for the UFC welterweight
division.
In the main event of
UFC Vegas 118 on Saturday at the Meta Apex, “Marrethinha”
battered former champ Belal
Muhammad for virtually all of their 25-minute fight. The
28-year-old Brazilian used his superior size, reach and speed to
beat his foe to the punch repeatedly, Muhammad’s vaunted takedown
assault never got out of first gear, and Bonfim deservedly swept
all five rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.
With the lopsided win, his fifth straight since suffering his lone
career loss to Nicolas
Dalby in November 2023, Bonfim reaffirmed his place as one of
the most impressive talents under 30 in the division worldwide and
enters our welterweight poll at No. 8. Meanwhile, Muhammad, whose
first career losing streak now stands at three, falls to 13th and
faces a very uncertain future in the division he ruled just two
years ago.
Bonfim’s breakout performance coincides with a major shakeup in
Sherdog’s welterweight rankings thanks to the endlessly talented
but perennially injured Shavkat
Rakhmonov. The “Nomad,” whose last outing saw him outpoint
Ian
Garry at UFC 310, has not been in action in 18 months and, with
no return to action scheduled, exits the poll due to inactivity. As
Rakhmonov had been ranked second, his ongoing misfortune is good
news, at least indirectly, for quite a few rising 170-pound
contenders.
In other news, Muhammad
Mokaev continues to be one of the top young talents in the
men’s flyweight division—and continues to struggle to find ways to
prove it. The undefeated 25-year-old phenom took a one-off fight at
bantamweight, destroying Jorge Calvo
with ground-and-pound in just 42 seconds at WOW 31 in Madrid. The
matchup underscored Mokaev’s talents as well as the extent to which
he hobbled his own career when his brash behavior earned him his
walking papers from the UFC in July 2024.
Note: Previous rankings listed in brackets.
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