After his big knockout win at UFC Vegas 111, what’s next for Gabriel Bonfim?

This past Saturday night in the main event of UFC Vegas 111, we saw a welterweight showcase with a ranking on the line. Gabriel Bonfim (19-1) was looking to defend his spot in the rankings as he took on Randy Brown (20-7).

Brown entered the fight with a ton of momentum being 8-2 in his last ten with one loss being to current champ Jack Della Maddalena and the other being a controversial decision loss to Bryan Battle. Bonfim entered the bout coming off a win against Wonderboy Thompson in which many thought that he lost.

That said, Bonfim was fighting to prove a point on Saturday night. After a solid first round, Bonfim finished things off in the second round. During a clinch, he landed a crushing knee to Brown that sent Brown down. Brown’s eyes rolled back and he looked out cold on the way down. The referee jumped in and it seemed like the fall woke Brown up.

Many were saying it was a bad stoppage, but I’m not in that camp and I think the right call was made at UFC Vegas 111.

What’s next after UFC Vegas 111?

This was a huge fight for Bonfim because it got him back on track. He entered the UFC undefeated and after winning his first two fights by finish, he was stopped by Nicolas Dalby. Since that loss, he’s bounced back incredibly well and Saturday was his fourth straight win.

After the fight was over, he called for a fight against Colby Covington. Covington is still somehow ranked tenth in the welterweight division despite the fact that he hasn’t won a fight since his decision win over Jorge Masvidal in March 2022. Prior to that, he hadn’t won since his win over Tyron Woodley in September 2020.

Covington has no business in the rankings and that’s why Bonfim called him out. He wants to finish him off and send him packing for good. Should Covington be interested, it’s actually a fight that makes sense from a rankings perspective, but I can’t see the UFC pulling that one together.

Instead, I really like a matchup with Daniel Rodriguez. The rankings for this week haven’t come out, but entering Saturday night, Rodriguez was one spot ahead of Bonfim. He has won three fights in a row and I think a fight between the two makes a ton of sense with the winner being poised to take on someone in the top ten.