Randy Brown

Gabriel Bonfim slumped Randy Brown with a nasty knee to end the UFC Vegas 111 main event in the second round on Saturday. The finish earned Bonfim a performance bonus (though some cried foul) and brings Brown to a 14-7, .500 record, with the UFC. Randy is 1-2 in his last three fights.

Randy’s next fight should be against Andreas Gustafsson. Andreas is just 1-1 with the UFC but has already shown a lot in the octagon. Gustafsson defeated Khaos Willams via unanimous decision in his debut back in June. Rinat Fakhretdinov took less than 60 seconds to stop Andreas back in September. Rinat actually was supposed to take on Gabriel Bonfim earlier this year before withdrawing. Both fighters suffered rough stoppages within a few months of each other and though the timing isn’t optimal, it could definitely work (even if Andreas potentially gets a fight in before the matchup). This would be a good next fight for Brown to get another shot against a decent prospect.

Brown’s next fight: Andreas Gustafsson 

Matt Schnell

Joseph Morales snapped up a guillotine to submit Matt Schnell early in the fight in the co main event of UFC Vegas 111. Rough outcome for Schnell as he is now 7-8, 1 NC with the UFC. Schnell essentially saved his spot on the roster back in April with his win over Jimmy Flick, prior to that- Schnell had lost three in a row.

Matt’s next fight should be against Alessandro Costa. Alessandro is a 2022 Contender Series product that has gone 2-3 with the promotion since. Both of his victories have been finishes and performance bonus earning as he’s a high action kill or be killed type of fighter. Costa was last in the cage back in September when he was finished in the final round of his fight with Aiden Coria via strikes.

Schnell and Costa were actually scheduled to fight last September but Costa withdrew from the bout. Matt is now 1-1 while Alessandro is 0-1 since the fight fell through. The matchup should be revisited since it still makes sense and would be a guaranteed banger- though both men aren’t doing so hot with the UFC currently.

Schnell’s next fight: Alessandro Costa

Muslim Salikhov

Uros Medic won a shootout against Muslim Salikhov on Saturday, finding the 41-year-old’s chin and stopping the fight in 63 seconds. The loss snapped a three-fight win streak for Muslim who is now 9-5 with the promotion. Muslim had even earned two performance bonuses during that three-fight win streak.

Khaos Williams would be an excellent next opponent for Muslim to take on. Salikhov is at the do or die point of his career. Gving him matchups such as Uros or Khaos isn’t too much for the “King of Kung Fu” to handle. Khaos is 6-4 within the UFC and is currently on a two-fight losing skid. Williams last fought in June when he dropped a unanimous decision to Andreas Gustafsson. The timing for this matchup, wouldn’t be the greatest, unfortunately. But Khaos shares opponents with Muslim and was supposed to take on Uros Medic himself earlier this year. These two are right in the same wheelhouse and both are extremely dangerous strikers with different styles and weapons.

Salikhov’s next fight: Khaos Williams

Ismael Bonfim

Chris Padilla slowly wore down and beat up Ismael Bonfim before eventually scoring the finish late in round two. With the loss, Ismael falls to 2-3 with the UFC. To add insult to injury, Bonfim missed weight ahead of the bout- by 5lbs., it’s the second time he’s missed weight with the promotion.

Ismael is in a tough spot as he’s dangerously close to falling into the territory of being kept on the UFC roster just to stay in good graces with the other Bonfim brother. Ismael needs to make weight as a jump to welterweight might not be feasible either. Good next fight for Bonfim would be against Bolaji Oki. Bolaji was last in action back in September when he was finished in the second round of his bout against Mason Jones. The 2023 Contender Series veteran is 2-2 with the UFC and has had a similar career to Bonfim, albeit without the weight cutting issues. This would be a solid matchup that’s winnable for Bonfim as long as the weight cut goes well.

Bonfim’s next fight: Bolaji Oki 

Marco Tulio

Christian Leroy Duncan put on a masterful striking display before finishing Marco Tulio with a spinning backfist and a follow-up barrage to open the main card of UFC Vegas 111. The finish earned CLD a performance bonus as he handed Tulio just the second loss of his career and his first within the UFC.

Tulio’s next fight should be against Michel Pereira. Despite the outcome on Saturday, Marco remains a bright prospect. Revisiting his cancelled fight from August against Michel- a solid opponent, for a potential back-and-forth slug fest. Pereira is 9-5 with the UFC and has lost his last three, most recently to Kyle Daukus back in August. He’s high-octane thrill, wide open at all times and Tulio would provide an excellent matchup. Not to mention, Pereira has seen some ranked fighters and been ranked himself, solid fight to keep Marco in the mix and against good competition.

Tulio’s next fight: Michel Pereira 

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 111 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

Padilla was returning to action for the first time since March, looking for his fourth win in as many fights under the UFC banner.

It was Padilla on the offensive early, and Bonfim countering with a heavy right hand. Padilla had his guard up high, firing kicks and clearly cognizant of the Brazilian’s heavy hands. A right hand on entry for Padilla was countered, and he backed away again. Padilla began chopping away at the legs, and Bonfim answered with a shot to the body, before the pair clinched up. They went down in a heap, and popped right back up as the tiny crowd at the UFC Apex started a “Taco” chant in support of Padilla. Bonfim would have a chance at a submission late, but it wasn’t to be.

Padilla’s calf kicks continued in round two, while Bonfim continued to let his hands fly. Seriously bad intentions seemed to accompany every punch thrown. Padilla kept his guard high, though that opened up his body, which Bonfim landed to off a three-punch combo. Even with his guard up, some of Bonfim’s punches, often glancing off the arms, still seemed to have an impact. When a low blow grazed him, Padilla chose to keep fighting without a break. Moments later, with was Padilla landing a punch to the body, followed by a knee. If you wanted to know if it had an impact, the answer became clear when Bonfim went after a takedown immediately after. He couldn’t land it, and suddenly Padilla had Ismael Bonfim in a bad spot. Off an elbow, Bonfim went down, and tried to grab a leg. When he couldn’t, “Taco” Padilla began firing off measured, well place shots to the ear as Bonfim covered up.

After six or seven, the ref clearly was of the opinion that Bonfim wasn’t defending intelligently, and waved off the fight!

Official Result: Chris Padilla def. Ismael Bonfim by TKO,  Round 2, 4:30

The post UFC Vegas 111: Chris Padilla Fights Smart, Wears Down Ismael Bonfim appeared first on Cageside Press.

The post Ismael Bonfim Returns at UFC Vegas 111 with Brother Gabriel and a Point to Prove appeared first on Cageside Press.

Gregory Rodrigues

40-year-old Jared Cannonier found an answer for Gregory Rodrigues as he stopped him in main event rounds on Saturday. ‘Robocop’ was riding a three-fight winning streak heading into this fight. Rodrigues had stopped Denis Tiuliulin and Brad Tavares before winning a unanimous decision against Christan Lerory Duncan in July of last year.

Tough loss for Rodrigues, as that was his chance as an unranked fighter to not just break into the rankings but potentially leapfrog inside the top 10. The losing performance still earned Gregory a fight of the night honors, but he needed that win to really move forward.

Gregory should look outside of the rankings for his next matchup. With an impressive finish he could be staring down another top 10 opponent in no time. A matchup against Jack Hermansson could be a good idea. Hermanson is a little over a year removed from his unanimous decision beatdown of hot prospect Joe Pyfer. Before that he had fights opposite of Roman Dolidze, Chris Curtis and the eventual UFC middleweight champion, Sean Strickland (who he only lost to by split decision). This matchup may be a little out of the way, but it’s a huge opportunity for Robocop to put a very large and colorful feather in his cap. Could potentially be a main event or more than likely a co-main event as well.

Rodrigues’s next fight: Jack Hermanson 

Calvin Kattar

Calvin Kattar dropped a unanimous decision to Youssef Zalal in the UFC Vegas 102 co-main event on Saturday. Kattar had trouble with the movement of his opponent as the #10 ranked featherweight dropped yet another competitive fight. Zalal entered the fight unranked, so this result is sure to shake up the rankings a little bit.

Kattar has dropped five of his last six since the start of 2021, with his only win coming by unanimous decision against Giga Chikadze in early 2022. Kattar’s performance wasn’t the worst, and though a fight against #15 Edson Barboza could make sense and would give Kattar a shot to reestablish himself against an aging legend- the ball likely won’t roll that way. A way more likely matchup would be against someone like Alex Caceres. Alex is on a two-fight losing skid opposite of the last man Kattar beat, Giga Chikadze, and most recently, Sean Woodson in May of last year. Alex is a tenured and exciting staple of the division who always brings dynamic striking to the fight. It would give Kattar a chance to propel himself if he is able to produce a win. Not to mention, Alex’s style might produce a bit easier of a striking matchup for Calvin then his most recent opponent.

Kattar’s next fight: Alex Caceres 

Dylan Budka

Dylan Budka lost a 95 second shoot out with Edmen Shahbazyan on Saturday. Fight was exciting while it lasted as Budka showed he was more than willing to sling leather with one of the more talked about strikers in the division.

Budka entered the fight at 0-2 in the UFC since signing with the promotion off of his 2023 Contender Series victory. He was stopped by Cesar Almeida in his promotional debut and lost to Andre Petroski in his last fight out after he missed weight for that bout (by 2.5lbs). Now this.

If the recent trend in the UFC continues Budka will likely be cut. Middleweight is pretty shallow and Dylan is a game fighter, so he has a solid chance to stay on the roster.

Budka should face the loser of Sedriques Dumas vs Michal Oleksiejczuk on April 12th. Michal has lost three in a row and has been stopped in two of those fights. Dumas is 3-2 with the promotion and coming off of a win last August against Denis Tiuliulin. Both of these guys are also on the hot seat. And needless to say, whoever loses this fight will be cut, if it doesn’t happen before that.

Budka’s next fight: Sedriuqes Dumas vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk loser 

Ismael Bonfim

Despite his brother Gabriel Bonfim picking up a slick submission win on the undercard, the other Bonfim didn’t fare as well. Bonfim experienced some early success at UFC Vegas 102, but, Nazim Sadykhov, came storming back to trigger a doctor stoppage between the first and second round. Ismael is now 2-2 in the UFC since coming off the Contender Series in 2022. All of his fights have been bangers with his kill or be killed style. Bonfim’s other loss is to Benoit Sanit-Denis in July of 2023.

Bonfim should face the winner of the Elves Brener vs Daniel Zellhuber. That fight goes down on March 29th. Both of these men are five fights into both of their respective UFC careers. Brener is coming off of two losses and Zellhuber is coming off of one. All three guys like to throw big shots, keep the fight standing, and are exciting prospects. Great fight to see which of these prospects is going to evolve into more of a name.

Bonfim’s next fight: Daniel Zellhuber vs. Elves Brener winner 

Rodolfo Vieria

Rodolfo Vieria lost a unaimous decision to Andre Petroski to start the main card of UFC Vegas 102 Saturday. Vieria struggled heavily to secure takedowns throughout the fight and now his 2-fight win, and finish streak is no more. Vieria is now 5-3 in his 6-year UFC tenure.

Rodolfo should have his fight with Jacob Malkoun rebooked. That was who Vieria was supposed to fight on Saturday. But Jacob got injured and had to withdraw from the bout. Malkoun in 4-3 with the UFC and stopped Andre Petroski in his last outing back in March of 2024. Two prospects who have stumbled a bit but still have huge upsides, great fight to make still.

Vieira’s next fight: Jacob Malkoun 

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 102 Losers appeared first on Cageside Press.

The Bonfim brothers both remained highly touted prospects, as was lightweight Sadykhov, who had yet to taste defeat in the UFC and was coming off a draw with “Slava Claus” a.k.a. Viacheslav Borshchev.

The ending Ismael Bonfim had hoped for wasn’t to be, however.

Bonfim found some success with his right hand in the opening round as the lightweight pair went back and forth in the stand-up department. The Brazilian appeared to have found his range and comfort zone first; Sadykhov was able to fire off kicks and counter, but often, Bonfim was already gone by the time those counters arrived. Bonfim would burst forward with his attacks, forcing Sadykhov to retreat back to the fence. Late in the round, however, Sadykov would finally connect with a question mark kick, hurting Bonfim and going on the attack. Sadykhov would end up tying up Bonfim along the fence, giving him some recovery time. A cut had opened under the Brazilian’s right eye, the most significant damage of the round.

Between rounds, Bonfim apparently said the wrong thing to the doctor, who has checking on his vision, bringing about an end to the fight and handing Sadykhov a TKO victory.

Official Result: Nazim Sadykhov def. Ismael Bonfim by TKO (doctor’s stoppage), Round 1, 5:00

The post UFC Vegas 102: Doc Halts Nazim Sadykhov vs. Ismael Bonfim After Opening Round appeared first on Cageside Press.

Gabriel Bonfim (16-1) will take on Rinat Fakhretdinov (24-2-1), and Ismael Bonfim (20-4) faces off with Nazim Sadykhov (9-1-1), at UFC Vegas 102 on February 15, 2025.

Gabriel vs. Rinat will be held at welterweight; Ismael vs. Nazim at lightweight. Eurosport and Laerte Viana were first to report the pairings. Both fighters confirmed the bookings on social media.

The card will be the second event held at the UFC Apex in 2025, as the promotion struggles to return to the road full time (which may never happen, UFC Senior VP of International and Content, David Shaw, told Cageside Press last month).

Gabriel Bonfim is 3-1 in the UFC since entering the promotion, with the lone loss seeing him succumb to knees in the clinch and some follow-up strikes at the hands of Niolas Dalby in 2023. He bounced back this year, fighting just once and winning a unanimous decision against Ange Loosa.

Opponent Fakhretdinov is coming off a decision win over Carlos Leal that left a bad taste in many fans’ mouths, not to mention the UFC broadcast team. That led to Fakhretdinov having a bit of a spat with Daniel Cormier, who called the welterweight “a moron.”

Ismael Bonfim, meanwhile, also had a bounce-back decision win in his last bout, defeating Vinc Pichel after a loss to Benoit Saint-Denis. His upcoming foe, Nazim Sadyhkov, is a fellow Contender Series product who is 2-0-1 in the UFC to date.

The UFC Vegas 102 card on Feb. 15, 2025 currently has the following reported match-ups attached to it:

• Julia Avila vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti
• Rodolfo Vieira vs. Jacob Malkoun
• Ismael Bonfim vs. Nazim Sadykhov
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Gabriel Bonfim
• Juliana Miller vs. Carli Judice
• Jose Delgado vs. Connor Matthews

The post Bonfim Bros. Booked for Same Card, February’s UFC Vegas 102 appeared first on Cageside Press.

As it turns out, UFC 301 went Bonfim’s way, as the lightweight prospect came away with a decision win in the rescheduled bout with Pichel. It wasn’t flashy, wasn’t the explosive finish fans might have hoped for in a fight at home, but Bonfim knew the win mattered more than ever.

That, explained Bonfim following the fight, was “because I was coming off a loss against Benoit. Missed weight on the rescheduled fight, that’s why I just felt the responsibility. Because I thought I was in the bad books with the company, so I needed to get that off my shoulder. Just responsibility.”

“It was a strategic fight, everything worked out and I got the win.”

Yes, he later explained, he believed his job might even be on the line at UFC 301, despite having won his first fight in the promotion in a high-profile match-up with Terrance McKinney.

“Absolutely. I missed weight, I was coming out of a loss, and this is a company that everything happens very quickly. Things happen every day. Just after I missed weight and I lost the fight, I called my manager a couple weeks later just to see how we were. This fight, I didn’t want to play, take any risks. I just needed a win, because I could lose my job if I lost this fight tonight. Happy that I was able to get the win, and now move on.”

If there was any bad blood with Pichel after their UFC Sao Paulo date fell through last year, that now appears to be water under the bridge. And Ismael Bonfim understands Pichel’s ire in this case. Back in November, Pichel wound up turning down the bout due to the weight miss.

“He had every right to do that. He flew from another country, he hit weight, I missed weight, it was my fault, I own it,” said Bonfim. “But I think I would have accepted the fight, I wouldn’t just not accept the fight for just over a kilo, but he had every right to do, to say the things he said. But no, we’re good now.”

Watch the full UFC 301 post-fight press conference with Ismael Bonfim above.

The post Ismael Bonfim Felt Job Was On the Line at UFC 301 appeared first on Cageside Press.

With a boisterous Brazilian crowd in the building early, 40-year old Pichel opened with a heavy leg kick, while Bonfim uncorked his righyt hand. Pichel blocked one of those, ducked another, and snapped off another leg kick that tripped up Bonfim. Another followed, partially checked by Bonfim. Pichel fired a right hand, continued to chop at the legs, looking to even things up with the faster Brazilian.

Bonfim, not to be outdone, fired a couple of leg kicks of his own when Pichel switched stances, hitting the inside thigh. As the round wore on, Bonfim settled in, countering well, ripping the body and connecting upstairs more than once. Pichel walked forward undeterred, parrying a number of Bonfirm’s attacks. Bonfirm got his jab going in the final 30 seconds, and went after a late guillotine attempt that didn’t take.

Round two found Pichel going back to the well with his leg kicks, but Ismael Bonfim landed a left, and later a right that gave Pichel a little trouble. Bonfim nearly caught a lazy leg kick by Pichel; the Brazilian had his rhythm and range down. Mid-round, Bonfirm had his opponent hurt, with Pichel appearing to stumble off a body shot that led to a right hand to the side of the head. Pichel recovered, but his offense was waning, leading to more of a defensive approach.

Bonfirm, meanwhile, landed another blow to the body, then fired about three straight left hands. He’d finish the frame slipping off a spinning kick, but clearly won the round.

BOOM 💥

LIVER SHOT 👀#UFC301 pic.twitter.com/b8CWjmvIxo

— UFC (@ufc) May 4, 2024

Ismael Bonfim looked considerably fresh as round three got underway; Vinc Pichel, in comparison, may have wilted a little. The Brazilian doubled up on left hands, but the action was halted just over two minutes in due to an eye poke landed by Pichel. With an earlier warning already delivered in the fight, ref Mike Beltran announced a “hard warning” and threatened that he’d take a point on the next infraction.

Back underway, it was Bonfim on the attack, with a little burst of energy after the short break. In the final minute, the Brazilian landed a single-leg takedown, changing up the complexion of the round and slowing things down just a little. Pichel would make it back up, Bonfim threatened with a guillotine, but ultimately they ran out the clock.

No surprises on the scorecards, with Ismael Bonfim coming away with the unanimous decision win.

Official Result: Ismael Bonfim def. Vinc Pichel by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post UFC 301: Ismael Bonfim Overcomes Early Leg Kick Attack, Takes Decision Over Vinc Pichel appeared first on Cageside Press.

The obvious answer is that Pichel’s opponent, Ismael Bonfim, missed weight, coming in at 3.5lbs over the lightweight non-title limit at 159.5lbs.

Of course, more often than not, such misses at the scale result in a penalty to the offending fighter — delivered to his or her opponent — and a catchweight bout. Not so in Sao Paulo, however, with Pichel declining to take the modified fight.

After news broke that the fight was pulled from the card, “From Hell” Pichel opened up about why he decided to turn a catchweight pairing with Bonfim down.

“So as you know my fight in cancelled. My opponent didn’t even try to make weight so I decided to take away his ability to fight and make money for this unprofessionalism which I’m sure he regrets,” wrote Pichel, who has fought for the UFC for over a decade now. “I am huge on self responsibility and he showed none by his actions and by missing weight by so much so I decided to give him some for his actions. I’m sorry to everyone who was excited to watch me throw down and also happy to ruin parlays against me at the same time. In my 15+ year career I have never missed weight.”

“If you are upset about my decision, I’m sorry but there is no one else to blame but my opponent. You will see me fight again soon!”

Vinc Pichel was looking to bounce back from a loss against Mark O. Madsen in the bout, which had snapped a three-fight win streak. Despite his lengthy tenure with the company, the 40-year old has fought just 10 times since arriving under the UFC banner in 2012.

UFC Sao Paulo now moves forward with the following match-ups:

• Jailton Almeida vs. Derrick Lewis
• Gabriel Bonfim vs. Nicolas Dalby
• Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Don’Tale Mayes
• Caio Borralho vs. Abus Magomedov
• Rodolfo Vieira vs. Armen Petrosyan
• Elves Brener vs. Kaynan Kruschewsky
• Rinat Fakhretdinov vs. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
• Vitor Petrino vs. Modestas Bukauskas
• Angela Hill vs. Denise Gomes
• Eduarda Moura vs. Montserrat Ruiz
• Kauê Fernandes vs. Marc Diakiese

The post Vinc Pichel Explains Decision to Decline Fight with Overweight Ismael Bonfim at UFC Sao Paulo appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ismael Bonfim (19-4) will look to bounce back from a loss to Benoit Saint-Denis when he takes on veteran Vinc Pichel (14-3) at the Sao Paulo card on November 4, 2023.

News of the booking was first reported by MMA Junkie, with Pichel confirming the news on social media. Pichel even got a little poetic, writing “The 4th of November. Not a day he’ll enjoy, But it’s one you’ll remember!”

Pichel, 40, actually has fewer pro fights than Bonfim, but lost a large chunk of time from his career dealing with injury. The California native had a three-fight win streak snapped in his last bout, a decision loss against Mark O. Madsen.

Bonfim, who joined the UFC alongside brother Gabriel, won his promotional debut against Terrance McKinney prior to coming up short against Saint-Denis. The Brazilian remains a top tier prospect however, and has just hit his prime at age 27.

UFC Sao Paulo will take place at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium with heavyweights Curtis Blaydes and Jailton Almeida headlining. The following match-ups have been reported for the event:

• Curtis Blaydes vs. Jailton Almeida
• Eduarda Moura vs. So Yul Kim
• Gabriel Bonfim vs. Nicolas Dalby
• Elves Brenner vs. Esteban Ribovics
• Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov
• Angela Hill vs. Denise Gomes
• Rodrigo Nascimento vs. Don’Tale Mayes
• Vitor Petrino vs. Modestas Bukauskas
• Caio Borralho vs. Nursulton Ruziboev
• Rodolfo Vieira vs. Armen Petrosyan
• Daniel Santos vs. Daniel Marcos
• Ismael Bonfim vs. Vinc Pichel

The post Ismael Bonfim Booked Against Vinc Pichel at UFC Sao Paulo appeared first on Cageside Press.