For the second week in a row the first-round finishes came aplenty inside the octagon, with UFC Fight Night 278 on Saturday at the Meta APEX seeing six fights end inside the opening frame.
The headliners needed all 25 contracted minutes, however, with Gabriel Bonfim (20-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) showcasing that he is an elite welterweight in a unanimous decision triumph over champion Belal Muhammad (24-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC), who has now dropped three straight.
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For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s UFC Fight Night 278 post-event facts.
Event stats
The UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payout for the event totaled $194,000.
Debuting fighters went 1-0 at the event.
Brendan Allen, Edmen Shahbazyan, Iwo Baraniewski and Edgar Chairez earned $100,000 UFC Fight Night 278 fight-night bonuses. Five fighters earned $25,000 finish bonuses.
The UFC sold VIP tickets to fans for UFC Fight Night 278, but the promotion did not make public the total number of tickets sold or the gate.
Betting favorites went 9-2 on the card. One fight had even odds.
Betting favorites remained 7-8 in UFC headliners this year. Bonfim vs. Muhammad was the third main event of 2026 with even odds.
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Total fight time for the 12-bout card was 1:57:33.
Gabriel Bonfim def. Belal Muhammad
Bonfim’s five-fight UFC winning streak at welterweight is the third-longest active streak in the division behind Shavkat Rakhmonov (seven) and Michael Morales (seven).
Muhammad’s three-fight losing skid is the longest of his career. He hasn’t earned a victory since October 2024.
Muhammad has suffered five of his six career losses by decision.
Muhammad has landed 1,515 significant strikes in UFC welterweight competition, the most in divisional history.
Brendan Allen def. Edmen Shahbazyan
Brendan Allen’s (27-7 MMA, 15-4 UFC) 14 victories in UFC middleweight competition are tied for third-most in divisional history behind Michael Bisping (16) and Brad Tavares (16).
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Edmen Shahbazyan (16-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) fell to 5-6 in his past 11 fights.
Tom Nolan def. Fares Ziam
Tom Nolan’s (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) five-fight UFC winning streak at lightweight is tied with Arman Tsarukyan and Quillan Salkilld for the longest active streak in the division.
Fares Ziam (18-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) has suffered two of his three UFC losses by decision.
Bryce Mitchell def. Santiago Luna
Bryce Mitchell (19-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) improved to 2-0 since he dropped to the UFC bantamweight division in July 2025.
Mitchell has earned eight of his 10 UFC victories by decision.
Santiago Luna (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) had his eight-fight winning streak snapped for the first defeat of his career.
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Iwo Baraniewski def. Junior Tafa
Iwo Baraniewski (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has earned all nine of his career victories by first-round stoppage.
Junior Tafa (7-6 MMA, 3-6 UFC) fell to 1-3 since he dropped to the light heavyweight division in May 2025.
Alessandro Costa def. Matt Schnell
Alessandro Costa (16-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) has earned 13 of his 16 career victories by stoppage.
Costa has earned all four of his UFC victories by knockout.
Matt Schnell (17-11 MMA, 7-9 UFC) has suffered 10 of his 11 career losses by stoppage.
Marcus McGhee def. John Yannis
John Yannis (10-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has suffered three of his five career losses by decision.
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Edgar Chairez def. Bruno Silva
Edgar Chairez (14-6 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has earned 12 of his 13 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished three of his UFC wins by submission.
Chelsea Chandler def. Priscila Cachoeira
Chelsea Chandler (7-4 MMA, 3-3 UFC) has earned two of her three UFC victories by stoppage.
Priscila Cachoeira (13-9 MMA, 5-9 UFC) fell to 5-9 in her past 14 fights after starting her career 8-0.
Joanderson Brito def. Jordan Leavitt
Joanderson Brito (19-5-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) has earned 16 of his 18 career victories by stoppage. He’s finished his opponent in seven of his eight UFC wins.
Jordan Leavitt (13-4 MMA, 6-4 UFC) fell to 1-1 since he dropped to the UFC featherweight division in February.
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Leavitt has suffered all three of his career stoppage losses by submission.
Jeisla Chaves def. Yuneisy Duben
Yuneisy Duben (6-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) has suffered consecutive losses after starting her career 7-0 with one no contest.
Duben suffered the first decision loss of her career.
Ketlen Souza def. Ariane Carnelossi
Ariane Carnelossi (15-5 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has suffered four of her five career losses by stoppage.
UFC research analyst and live statistics producer Michael Carroll contributed to this story. Follow him on X @MJCflipdascript.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Vegas 118 post-event facts: Belal Muhammad’s career hits new low
