Gabriel Bonfim: Ian Garry 'showed the way' to defeat Belal Muhammad

Gabriel Bonfim is coming off a finish of Randy Brown. | Getty/UFC

There’s a significant gap in experience in UFC Fight Night 278 headliner.

On one side is former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, a veteran of 20 fights in the UFC who is coming off a two-fight losing streak. On the other side is Gabriel Bonfim, a Brazilian talent nine years younger who is climbing the rankings with a 6-1 UFC mark. This is the dynamic of Saturday’s featured bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Despite being the betting favorite (-200 to +150), Bonfim revealed to Sherdog.com that he prepared for the most difficult fight of his life.

“After he lost the belt wanting to prove himself standing up with [Jack Della Maddalena], I don’t believe he’ll come to strike with me,” Bonfim said. “After all, one of his strengths is the cage game. I think he’ll look for this game similar to what [Nicolas] Dalby did. But I trained a lot to avoid his [grappling]. I think Ian Garry showed the way, breaking his game. The idea is to move around, defend takedowns, use low kicks and connect with my hard hands. My goal is always to knock him out.”

The 28-year-old Bonfim is coming off a beautiful knockout of Randy Brown in November that improved his professional record to 19-1. Prior to that win, Bonfim’s most notable victory was his split-decision win over past title challenger Stephen Thompson last July.

Bonfim revealed that his brother, Ismael Bonfim, was a significant presence during his preparation for Muhammad.

“My brother is getting ready to make his 170 debut,” Bonfim said. “He helped me a lot in this camp.”

Bonfim believes a knockout win over Muhammad would propel him into the Top 5 of the UFC rankings and put him one victory away from a title shot.

"The division is all bunched up at the top,” Bonfim said. “Garry beat Belal, and [he’s expected to] be the next to fight for the title. I believe that if I win convincingly against a former champion, who is currently ranked fifth, I should either have one more fight or go straight for the title. Welterweight is probably the most difficult category in the whole UFC. Any fight is just like a title fight, so my focus now is 100% on Belal Muhammad.”