Belal Muhammad responds after UFC Vegas 118 skid hits three straight losses

Belal Muhammad released his first public statement after suffering a third straight defeat at UFC Vegas 118, where Gabriel Bonfim handed the former UFC welterweight champion a unanimous decision loss in the main event on June 6 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Muhammad’s message, posted soon after the fight, blended gratitude with resolve, as he told fans, “Grateful for the journey, grateful for the lessons. I’ll be back.”

Muhammad entered the card after a run that left the division conversation shifting around him rather than through him. In the period leading up to the Bonfim bout, he had absorbed notable setbacks including a unanimous-decision loss to Ian Machado Garry at UFC Qatar, and an earlier welterweight title loss to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in May 2025.

On Saturday, Bonfim’s performance put Muhammad on the back foot for long stretches, with pressure and perimeter work that limited Muhammad’s ability to dictate distance. MMA Weekly’s round-by-round recap described Bonfim as establishing offense with a jab and leg kicks while continuing to crowd Muhammad’s movement, and Sherdog later characterized the result as Bonfim “outlanding and bloodying up” Muhammad over five rounds.

Muhammad’s statement did not focus on technical excuses. Instead, he framed the loss in a steady, low-drama tone: “Alhamdulillah for everything,” he wrote. He also expanded the message beyond himself, thanking supporters and his team and offering praise to a “brother” in his closing lines, adding that the hard work was “paying off” and moving him “on his way to the title.” Muhammad did not name the person in the posted message, but Brendan Allen, a teammate on the Vegas 118 card, earned a unanimous decision win the same night, which would align with the upbeat congratulations Muhammad included.

The most direct takeaway from the skid is what it does to his momentum in a crowded welterweight tier. Multiple reports around UFC Vegas 118 framed the run as the longest losing streak of Muhammad’s professional career, and Yahoo Sports also noted that he had not won in roughly two years heading into the weekend.

For Bonfim, the win sharpened his case as a real contender rather than just a promising opponent. Sherdog wrote that Bonfim is “closing in” on a title shot, but that he still needs additional marquee wins to get there, and it pointed to the possibility of bigger names being the next checkpoints in the division’s title picture.

What to watch next is how UFC positions both fighters after this convergence of a stalled champion and an ascending contender. For Muhammad, the immediate question becomes matchmaking: whether the promotion aims to rebuild him through ranked test cases, or starts treating him more like an experienced measuring stick at 170. For Bonfim, the question is path to legitimacy, meaning which established names he can force into the next wave of welterweight title contention.