The Gabriel Bonfim confirmed his continued evolution as he claimed a shutout victory over Belal Muhammad to place himself into the higher echelon of the UFC welterweight division. However any speak of a title shot must await now.
Bonfim regarded excellent in his 50-45, 50-45, 50-45 win over the previous undisputed champion on the Meta APEX on Saturday night time as he confirmed that he’s considerably leveled up his sport. Nonetheless, regardless of his notable victory, “Marretinha” nonetheless has a solution to go earlier than he can problem for the 170-pound title. The excellent news is he appears to know that, too.
Both Ian Machado Garry or Carlos Prates will get that first shot at Islam Makhachev, and Michael Morales isn’t too far behind both. And who is aware of? Possibly we’ll see Shavkat Rakhmonov return to the fray and turn into an immediate contender, too.
It signifies that Bonfim’s job is much from accomplished, and his callout of Jack Della Maddalena was spot-on. If he can beat “JDM”, he’ll be in place to battle for a title shot. The welterweight division has by no means regarded so busy, and Bonfim’s arrival as one other severe contender solely makes it extra thrilling.
Zuffa Boxing simply had its Griffin-Bonnar second
After six Zuffa Boxing occasions on the Meta APEX, the group went on the street for the primary time and produced an exhilarating occasion in Bournemouth, England.
The primary occasion pitted England’s former cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith towards heavy-handed knockout artist from Canada, Ryan Rozicki. It was a battle between the irresistible drive and the immovable object at 200 kilos, and a hard-hitting scrap was anticipated. However my goodness. What we acquired surpassed all expectations.
Each males went into the trenches from the opening trade and by no means stopped as they went backwards and forwards in one of many wildest, most violent boxing matches I’ve ever witnessed. Rozicki threw the kitchen sink at Billam-Smith, who took the whole lot the Canadian might throw at him, then returned fireplace with curiosity.
Rozicki had constructed his title from merely overwhelming his opponents with sheer energy and stress, however towards Billam-Smith, he confronted somebody who was as cussed as he was sturdy. And whereas “CBS” confirmed unbelievable toughness within the face of Rozicki’s onslaught, he rapidly fired again with smarter, slicker, extra correct pictures of his personal. Whereas Rozicki walked ahead, throwing bombs, Billam-Smith was sniping from shut vary.
The motion went backwards and forwards, with every spherical seemingly much more chaotic than the final, till two big rounds from Billam-Smith within the sixth and seventh pressured Rozicki’s nook to drag their man out of the battle.
It was a kind of “name your pals” fights that evoked reminiscences of the legendary Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar bout on the TUF 1 Finale. And, in some ways, this battle might turn into the Griffin-Bonnar second for Zuffa Boxing. It’s nonetheless early within the group’s growth, and now they’ve an immediate traditional on their spotlight reel.
It got here on the good time – on Zuffa Boxing’s first present away from the Meta APEX, and proper firstly of their new UK TV partnership with Sky Sports activities – and it gave the British boxing viewers a glimpse of what Dana White and his staff wish to ship. The British boxing scene simply acquired much more fascinating.
