Gabriel Bonfim scored his first knockout in the octagon in the UFC Vegas 111 main event after blasting Randy Brown with a knee that sent the welterweight veteran crashing to the canvas in a heap.
For his part, Bonfim scoffs at the idea there was any controversy in his win, especially after seeing the violent way Brown fell to the floor after eating the knee.
“He was asleep guys,” Bonfim said during the UFC Vegas 111 post-fight press conference. “He was knocked out. I saw his eyes were in the back of his head.”
While the finish may have come into question, Bonfim’s performance was still outstanding as he largely controlled the fight from start to finish. He opened aggressively and chipped away at Brown with a series of nasty calf kicks.
Bonfim then got the finish in the second round to move his UFC record to 6-1 overall with his only loss coming in 2023 when he fell to Nicolas Dalby in a Fight of the Night effort.
According to the Brazilian, that fight changed him for the better and he’s transformed into a much different animal in the aftermath of that defeat.
“You guys can see the loss to [Nicolas] Dalby changed me completely,” Bonfim said. “I know what I had to do. I had to level up. You guys see what I’m doing right now.
“All you’ve got to expect from me in 2026 is [being] among the top 5 before I become the champion of this weight class.”
Following his latest win, Bonfim wasted no time calling for a future fight against one-time interim welterweight champion Colby Covington, who has largely disappeared from the promotion after he suffered a loss to Joaquin Buckley at the close of 2024.
Based on the UFC rankings, Covington still maintains a spot in the top 10 at welterweight, although his most recent win over an active fighter on the current roster came back in 2018 when he beat Rafael dos Anjos. Overall, Covington is 2-4 in his past six fights with his two wins coming over Jorge Masvidal and Tyron Woodley, who are no longer competing in the UFC.
Still, Bonfim sees Covington as an obstacle he wants to clear and rid from the welterweight division so the rest of the ranked fighters can move forward without him around.
“He’s the one that’s holding up the weight class,” Bonfim said about Covington. “He doesn’t want to fight. He’s ranked. He’s holding up the weight class and I need to be the one to retire him.”
