Gabriel Bonfim sets sights on another former UFC welterweight champion

LAS VEGAS – Gabriel Bonfim wants to make a tour out of defeating former UFC welterweight champions.

At UFC Fight Night 278 on Saturday, Bonfim (20-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) defeated Belal Muhammad (24-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) at Meta APEX in Las Vegas. He then immediately turned his attention to another former champion: Jack Della Maddalena.

“He is my next opponent because the division is kind of muddy waters up there,” Bonfim told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference through a Portuguese-language interpreter. “Things are kind of scrambled up top. He’s in the top five, and I feel that he needs to be my next opponent.”

Della Maddalena (18-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) has hit tough times in his two most recent outings. After he was dominated and lost the title to Islam Makahchev in November, he was brutalized and finished by Carlos Prates in May. He doesn’t currently have a known fight on the books.

As it stands, Bonfim has won five fights in a row, entering Saturday’s bout off victories over Ange Loosa, Khaos Williams, Stephen Thompson and Randy Brown. His only UFC loss came to Nicolas Dalby in come-from-behind fashion in November 2023.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Gabriel Bonfim sets sights on another former UFC welterweight champion