UFC Fight Night 278 live results: Belal Muhammad vs. Gabriel Bonfim
Action inside the Octagon is back in the home of the UFC this weekend as UFC Fight Night 278 takes place at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
The main event is a five-round bout in the welterweight division as former UFC Welterweight Champion Belal Muhammad takes on Gabriel Bonfim. Muhammad is looking to end a two-fight losing skid and get back on a path to regaining the title he lost before his current skid. Bonfim is looking to firmly get into the title picture as he comes in having won four consecutive fights.
In the co-main event, middleweight contender Brendan Allen looks for his third straight win against Edmen Shahbazyan, winner of three straight fights. Also on the main card is a lightweight bout between Fares Ziam and Tom Nolan; a bantamweight fight pitting Bryce Mitchell against Santiago Luna; and a light heavyweight fight between Iwo Baraniewski and Junior Tafa.
PRELIMS | 5 PM ET | 2 PM PT
> Women’s Strawweights- Ketlen Souza (16-6, 3-3 UFC) vs. Ariane Carnelossi (15-4, 3-3 UFC)
Carnelossi comes forward to start and throws, connecting with a jab to the body. Souza lands a right hand. Carnelossi with a leg kick. Carnelossi with a quick combo. Souza connects with a solid right hand. Carnelossi with a quick flurry. Souza lands a right hand and Carnelossi goes down, and then Souza drops Carnelossi with a head kick as she was getting up and it is all over! What a finish by Souza!
Fight Result- Ketlen Souza def. Ariane Carnelossi by knockout (head kick) at 1:34 of Round 1
> Women’s Flyweights- Jeisla Chaves (6-0, 0-0 UFC) vs. Yuneisy Duben (6-1 1 NC, 0-1 UFC)
They both land leg kicks and Duben lands a high kick. Duben lands a jab then a leg kick. Chaves with a right hand as they attack at the same time. They trade and Duben gets a brief takedown, but they get right to their feet. Duben with some foot stomps and Chaves lands a knee to the body and a right hand as they break the clinch. Duben lands a leg kick. They both kick at the same time. Chaves lands a leg kick. They trade in close range. Chaves lands a right hand. Duben lands a leg kick. Chaves with an overhand right. Chaves with a solid right hand. Duben grabs the body and pushes Chaves against the fence. They separate. 10-9 Chaves.
Duben lands a right hand. They clinch in the center as Duben was throwing. Chaves lands some knees as Duben pushes her to the fence. They separate and Chaves lands some solid combinations. Duben tries a spinning back fist but Chaves ducks under and gets the tie up. Chaves lands some knees before they separate. Chaves gets a brief takedown and has Duben pushed against the fence on the feet. Chaves scores another takedown. Chaves gets the back and locks in a rear-naked choke. Duben is fighting it off and Chaves eases it and lands a right hand. Chaves with some left hands from the back. Chaves continues to land shots from the back. 10-9 Chaves, 20-18 Chaves.
They both throw and Chaves gets Duben to the mat and has side back control. Duben grabs the fence and gets a brief warning. They stand and Chaves continues to hunt the takedown. They move to the center and Chaves lands some knees and connects with a right hand as they separate. Duben with a high kick and Chaves lands a jab and Duben slips to the mat, but gets up. They trade and Chaves scores a takedown as she grabs the body lock. Chaves takes the back. They get to their feet and Duben is able to score a takedown. Duben lands from the half-guard. Duben with more shots from the top as Chaves throws from the bottom. They scramble up late and trade some clinch knees. 10-9 Duben, 29-28 Chaves.
Fight Result- Jeisla Chaves def. Yuneisy Duben by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
> Featherweights- Jordan Leavitt (13-3, 6-3 UFC) vs. Joanderson Brito (18-5-1, 6-3 UFC)
Leavitt shoots for a takedown as Brito throws a knee. They go to the mat with Brito on top as Leavitt is trying to work something from the guard. Leavitt is looking for a guillotine choke. They work to their feet and Leavitt lets go and looks for a takedown against the fence. Leavitt with some knees against the fence. They separate. Leavitt shoots for a takedown and pushes it against the fence. Leavitt lands a knee. Brito with some body shots as Leavitt lands a few knees. They trade knees against the fence and break the clinch. Brito lands a big right hand. Brito connects with more right hands. Leavitt shoots for a takedown and Brito grabs the neck and locks in a choke and Leavitt taps! Brito scores the submission out of nowhere.
Fight Result- Joanderson Brito def. Jordan Leavitt by submission (ninja choke) at 4:19 of Round 1
> Women’s Bantamweights- Priscila Cachoeira (13-8, 5-8 UFC) vs. Chelsea Chandler (6-4, 2-3 UFC)
Cachoeira backs Chandler up early with a big right hand, and then Chandler counters with an uppercut. Chandler lands a left hand. Cachoeira connects as she comes in and then throws Chandler to the mat. Cachoeira with some leg kicks and then Chandler is ordered to her feet. They clinch and both land knees. Chandler then drops Cachoeira with a left hand and jumps on the back. Chandler looks for a choke. Chandler lands some punches from the back. Chandler grabs the arm and locks in an armbar and Cachoeira taps!
Fight Result- Chelsea Chandler def. Priscila Cachoeira by submission (armbar) at 3:42 of Round 1
> Flyweights- #15 Bruno Silva (15-8-2 1 NC, 5-5 1 NC UFC) vs. Edgar Chairez (13-6 1 NC, 3-2 1 NC UFC)
Both working the jab early on. Chairez lands a jab and Silva counters with a right hand. Silva lands another right hand. Chairez with a leg kick. Chairez with a big right hand. Silva lands a combination but eats a big uppercut from Chairez. Chairez then lands a right hand. Chairez lands a big right hand and Silva goes to his butt, but gets right up. They trade in close range and Chairez lands the jab. Silva lands a right hand. Chairez lands an uppercut and Silva goes down. Chairez jumps on top and lands before taking the back and locks in a rear-naked choke and Silva taps! Chairez picks up an impressive win.
Fight Result- Edgar Chairez def. Bruno Silva by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:13 of Round 1
> Bantamweights- Marcus McGhee (10-2, 4-1 UFC) vs. John Yannis (10-4, 1-1 UFC)
McGhee coming forward and lands a pair of right hands. McGhee with a body kick. Yannis connects with a leg kick. Yannis with a body kick. McGhee lands a right hand. McGhee with a check hook. Both are connecting in close range. McGhee with a combination. McGhee working the jab from the southpaw position. McGhee with another combo and lands a right hand. McGhee lands inside the pocket. Yannis with a body kick then a right hook. 10-9 McGhee.
McGhee with a hard leg kick followed by a body kick. They trade leg kicks. Yannis connects inside the pocket. McGhee with a pair of right hooks. Yannis lands the jab. McGhee lands a combination. Yannis lands a right hook to the body. McGhee hurts Yannis with some body shots and connects with some head shots. Yannis lands a left hand and fires back with some stiff shots. Yannis lands to the body. McGhee lands to the body. 10-9 McGhee, 20-18 McGhee.
McGhee with a pair of body kicks. McGhee with a high kick. McGhee lands a pair of right hands. Yannis is pressing forward, but McGhee is landing off his back foot. Yannis with a right hand. McGhee with a short combination. McGhee lands a right hand and then a body kick. McGhee with a front kick. McGhee lands a jab. Yannis lands a right hand. McGhee with a jab. McGhee with a left hand. Yannis lands a body kick. 10-9 McGhee, 30-27 McGhee.
Fight Result- Marcus McGhee def. John Yannis by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
> 130-pound Catchweights- Matt Schnell (17-10 1 NC, 7-8 1 NC) vs. Alessandro Costa (15-5, 3-3 UFC)
Schnell with a body kick. They trade kicks. Schnell lands a leg kick. They both land big shots inside the pocket. Costa lands a right hand and Schnell is on wobbly legs. Schnell looks for a takedown as he goes down face first and Costa starts landing tons of punches from the back and it is stopped! Big finish from Costa to get the win.
Fight Result- Alessandro Costa def. Matt Schnell by TKO (punches) at 2:28 of Round 1
MAIN CARD | 8 PM ET | 5 PM PT
> Light Heavyweights- Iwo Baraniewski (8-0, 2-0 UFC) vs. Junior Tafa (7-5, 3-5 UFC)
Baraniewski lands a leg kick. Baraniewski looks for a takedown as he pushes Tafa against the fence. Baraniewski with a knee and a right hand as they break. Tafa lands a right hand. Baraniewski lands a heavy calf kick. Baraniewski lands another leg kick and Tafa goes down. Baraniewski with a ton of right hands from the top and it is all over! What a finish by Baraniewski!
Fight Result- Iwo Baraniewski def. Junior Tafa by TKO (strikes) at 1:25 of Round 1
> Bantamweights- Bryce Mitchell (18-3, 9-3 UFC) vs. Santiago Luna (8-0, 2-0 UFC)
They both throw body kicks. Mitchell lands a left hand then a pair of leg kicks. Luna lands a right hand. Mitchell with a leg kick. Mitchell looks for a takedown and pushes it to the fence. Luna reverses and they scramble to the mat with Mitchell in the half-guard. Mitchell pressuring from side control. Mitchell isn’t really doing anything. Mitchell with more top pressure. Mitchell is able to get the full mount. Luna tries to reverse but Mitchell gets the back and looks for a choke. He lets go and lands from the mount. 10-9 Mitchell.
Mitchell lands a combination. Luna with a right hand. Mitchell pushes it to the fence as they tie up. Mitchell lands some knees. Mitchell with more knees. They scramble to the mat and Luna is on top inside the guard of Mitchell. They get to their feet. Luna with a combo. Mitchell looks for a takedown as he pushes Luna to the fence. Mitchell gets a takedown. Mitchell working from the top as he lands some short shots and looks for the mount position. Mitchell gets side control and lands punches. 10-9 Mitchell, 20-18 Mitchell.
Luna comes out firing punches but misses and Mitchell lands a high kick. Mitchell shoots for a takedown, but Luna ends up on top. Luna looks to attack the neck and is trying to get a D’Arce choke locked on. Mitchell escapes into side control and then immediately gets into the mount position. Mitchell looking to set up an arm-triangle choke. Mitchell continues to control from the top as he’s blocking Luna’s attempts to reverse. Both land on the mat. Mitchell gets the back and flattens Luna out looking for a choke. He lets go and lands some short punches. Luna spins and Mitchell is in the mount looking for an arm-triangle choke. He has it locked in and Luna taps in the final seconds!
Fight Result- Bryce Mitchell def. Santiago Luna by submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:52 of Round 3
> Lightweights- #14 Fares Ziam (18-4, 8-2 UFC) vs. Tom Nolan (10-1, 4-1 UFC)
Nolan lands a leg kick. He lands another. Nolan with a high kick then a leg kick. Ziam grabs the leg and gets a takedown and grabs the neck for a guillotine choke but lets go and grabs the back. They stand and Ziam lands an elbow. Nolan with a body kick as Ziam lands a left hook. Nolan with a straight left hand before he scores a big takedown. Nolan lands from the top and gets into side control. Nolan gets into the guard of Ziam. Nolan gets Ziam to the fence and lands more punches from the top. Nolan looks for the neck as they start to scramble up. Nolan has the back and scores a big takedown and is in side control. Ziam is able to reverse and is now controlling from the top. Ziam takes Nolan’s back. Ziam tries a takedown but Nolan escapes. Ziam lands a combination and Nolan gets the clinch. 10-9 Nolan.
Nolan with a leg kick but eats a big three-punch combination from Ziam. Nolan gets the clinch along the fence. Ziam reverses position and lands a knee. Nolan reverses and has the double underhooks. Nolan with some knees and he lands on the break and Ziam slips to the mat. Nolan gets on top into the half-guard and lands an elbow. Ziam attacks the arm from the bottom. Nolan gets out and postures against the fence. They scramble to the knees and Nolan lands a pair of knees to the legs of Ziam. They get to their feet. Nolan has body control and lands a knee. Ziam with a right hand as they separate. 10-9 Nolan, 20-18 Nolan.
Ziam is pressuring Nolan to back up. Nolan lands a knee then looks for a takedown as he pushes Ziam against the fence and has the body lock. Nolan with a knee. Ziam scores a big takedown. Ziam takes the back of Nolan. Nolan rolls and Ziam is in side control. Ziam takes the back. Ziam lands but Nolan is able to reverse and is inside the guard of Ziam. Nolan with some elbows from the top. Nolan has back control as they stand and lands a knee. Nolan lands a knee. Ziam scores another takedown. Ziam with some knees from the back. Ziam lands a big elbow as they stand. 10-9 Ziam, 29-28 Nolan.
Fight Result- Tom Nolan def. Fares Ziam by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
> Middleweights- #4 Brendan Allen (26-7, 14-4 UFC) vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (16-5, 9-5 UFC)
Allen throws but is unable to connect. Allen with a body kick. Allen lands a right hand. Allen lands a leg kick. They trade jabs. Allen with a body kick. Allen with a jab. They trade jabs. Both land a leg kick. They trade jabs. Allen with a quick combo as Shahbazyan misses a right hand. Allen shoots for a takedown and Shahbazyan stuffs it. Both land a knee as they tie up. They separate. Shahbazyan connects with a right hand. Shahbazyan with a double jab. Allen looks for a takedown but Shahbazyan defends. Shahbazyan with a double jab followed by a left hand. Allen lands a pair of leg kicks. Shahbazyan with a heavy combo late. 10-9 Allen.
Allen with a leg kick. Allen lands a right hand as Shahbazyan lands a jab. Allen with a right hand followed by a left hook. Allen with a leg kick. Shahbazyan lands a leg kick. Allen lands a right hand inside the pocket. That have an exchange in the pocket and Allen looks for a takedown, but Shahbazyan defends it. Allen with a stiff jab and lands a big right hand. They clinch and Allen with an elbow. Allen works the jab. Shahbazyan lands a right hand. Shahbazyan with a jab. Allen lands a right hand. They trade as Shahbazyan circles away. Allen with a leg kick as Shahbazyan lands a jab. They trade late. 10-9 Allen, 20-18 Allen.
Allen lands a combination. Allen with a right hand. Shahbazyan works the jab. Shahbazyan with another jab. Allen lands a leg kick. Allen lands a right hand. Shahbazyan lands a right hand to the body. Allen fires back with some punches and lands an elbow. They trade jabs. Shahbazyan with a right hand. They trade punches. Shahbazyan with a right hand. Allen lands a leg kick. Allen with a short combo and they trade right hands. Shahbazyan with a right hand but Allen fires back a big combination. Shahbazyan with the jab. Allen with a body kick. Allen lands a right hand followed by an uppercut. Shahbazyan gets the body lock and pushes it to the fence, but Allen lands as they separate. Allen with a short elbow. Shahbazyan lands a combo. Shahbazyan’s face is messed up. Allen gets a late takedown. They get up and have a big exchange late. 10-9 Allen, 30-27 Allen.
Fight Result- Brendan Allen def. Edmen Shahbazyan by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
> Welterweights- #5 Belal Muhammad (24-5 1 NC, 15-5 1 NC UFC) vs. #11 Gabriel Bonfim (19-1, 6-1 UFC)
Muhammad with some early jabs. Muhammad lands a right hand. Bonfim with a body kick. Muhammad lands a right hand. Bonfim lands a body kick. Bonfim works the jab. Muhammad lands a right hand and then a combo. They trade leg kicks. Bonfim lands a body kick and they trade heavy right hands. Muhammad with a leg kick. Bonfim lands a left hook. They trade leg kicks. Bonfim with a high kick. 10-9 Bonfim.
Bonfim with a leg kick followed by a right hand. Bonfim lands another leg kick. Bonfim with a quick combo in close range. Muhammad lands a right hand. Bonfim with more calf kicks. Bonfim with another calf kick. Muhammad lands a left hand. Bonfim works the jab and Muhammad lands a leg kick. Bonfim with another leg kick and they have an exchange. Bonfim with the jab and both land a left hook. Muhammad lands a right hand. Bonfim lands another leg kick. He lands another. Bonfim with a double jab. Muhammad rushes in but Bonfim lands a counter combination. Muhammad sneaks in a head kick. Bonfim back to the calf kick. He lands another. Muhammad with a high kick. 10-9 Bonfim, 20-18 Bonfim.
Muhammad immediately shoots for a takedown but Bonfim defends. Bonfim lands a leg kick. Bonfim lands a right hand. Bonfim lands a leg kick. They trade in close range. Bonfim with another heavy calf kick. Muhammad with a body kick. Bonfim lands a big right hand and Muhammad loses his mouth piece. Herb Dean steps in and Muhammad puts it back in and they get back going. Bonfim with another right hand. They trade as Bonfim is pressuring. Bonfim lands another big right hand. Bonfim lands another right hand. 10-9 Bonfim, 30-27 Bonfim.
Bonfim lands the jab. Bonfim with another jab as Muhammad lands a right hand. Muhammad with a body kick. He lands another one. Bonfim lands a right hand as Muhammad lands a left hand. Muhammad’s nose is busted up. Bonfim lands a jab. He lands another. Muhammad with a body kick. Muhammad lands a right hand. They trade leg kicks at the same time. Bonfim with a leg kick followed by a right hand. Muhammad lands a body kick. Bonfim with a right hand. Muhammad lands a jab. Bonfim with a big right hand. They trade late. 10-9 Bonfim, 40-36 Bonfim.
They trade punches. Bonfim with a big right hand. Muhammad lands a body kick. Bonfim lands a right hand. Bonfim works the jab as Muhammad lands a right hand. They trade leg kicks. Bonfim with a body kick and Muhammad catches it and lands a right hand. Bonfim connects with another right hand. They trade jabs. They trade punches and kicks. Muhammad’s face is messed up some more. They trade and Muhammad with a jumping knee. 10-9 Bonfim, 50-45 Bonfim.
Fight Result- Gabriel Bonfim def. Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
MMA writer & live coverage specialist, contributor to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter