TLDR
- Belal Muhammad faces Gabriel Bonfim at UFC Fight Night 278 on Saturday at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas
- Muhammad is on the first losing streak of his career and hasn’t won since July 2024
- The former champion is 77 significant strikes away from breaking the UFC welterweight division record
- Bonfim enters on a four-fight winning streak with a 6-1 UFC record
- The main card features Brendan Allen vs. Edmen Shahbazyan and Fares Ziam vs. Tom Nolan
Sources: mmajunkie.usatoday.com | ufc.com | sherdog.com
Former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad returns to action Saturday night when he faces Gabriel Bonfim in the main event of UFC Fight Night 278 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. The event streams on Paramount+ starting at 8 p.m. EDT.
Muhammad enters the bout on the first losing streak of his career. The 37-year-old fighter has not won since July 2024 and will look to bounce back against the surging Bonfim.
The Palestinian-American fighter made history as the first and only Palestinian champion in UFC history. He remains one of just 14 fighters to hold the undisputed UFC welterweight title.
Big things ahead 🫡@BullyB170 is ready to headline #UFCVegas118!
[ JUNE 6 | 8pmET | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/CCniBFlEoB
— UFC (@ufc) June 3, 2026
Muhammad’s Historic UFC Numbers
Muhammad holds an impressive record of 24-5 overall and 15-5 in the UFC. His 15 victories in UFC welterweight competition rank seventh all-time in division history, trailing only Neil Magny, Georges St-Pierre, Matt Brown, Matt Hughes, Kamaru Usman, and Vicente Luque.
The former champion has earned 18 of his 24 career wins by decision, including 12 of his 15 UFC victories. His 12 decision wins in UFC welterweight competition tie him with St-Pierre for second-most in division history behind Magny’s 14.
Muhammad has landed 1,429 significant strikes in UFC welterweight fights, the second-most in division history. He sits just 77 strikes behind Magny’s all-time record of 1,506.
Bonfim brings a 19-1 record into the fight with a 6-1 UFC mark. The Brazilian fighter rides a four-fight winning streak in the welterweight division, tied for the third-longest active streak behind Shavkat Rakhmonov and Michael Morales, who each have seven straight wins.
Strong Supporting Card Features Top Contenders
The co-main event features middleweight contender Brendan Allen taking on Edmen Shahbazyan. Allen holds a 26-7 record with 14 UFC wins and has finished nine of those victories inside the distance.
Allen’s nine stoppage wins in UFC middleweight competition rank third all-time in division history behind Gerald Meerschaert and Anderson Silva. His six submission victories at middleweight trail only Meerschaert’s 11 for the division lead.
Lightweight contender Fares Ziam will face Tom Nolan in another featured bout. Ziam brings a six-fight UFC winning streak into the contest, the longest active streak in the lightweight division.
Bryce Mitchell returns to action against Santiago Luna at bantamweight. Mitchell has gone 3-3 in his last six fights after starting his career 15-0. He remains one of only three fighters in UFC history to earn a Twister submission victory.
The main card also includes a light heavyweight bout between undefeated Iwo Baraniewski and Junior Tafa. Baraniewski has won all eight of his career fights by stoppage.
The preliminary card begins at 5 p.m. EDT and features seven additional bouts, including matchups in the flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, and women’s divisions. Matt Schnell faces Alessandro Costa in a 130-pound catchweight bout on the prelims.
