Stephen Thompson vs. Gabriel Bonfim Prediction

Stephen Thompson just won’t quit and at 42 years of age is going into his 21st UFC fight in his career. Opposite him is the 17-1 Gabriel Bonfim, who currently sits at number 10 in the Welterweight division.

I honestly think that if Wonderboy loses, he should retire. I do love him as everyone does, but his record of 1-4 in his last five fights and him being beaten up is not something that I would like to continue to watch. He was submitted by Shavkat Rakhmonov and then KOed by Joaquin Buckley. His last win was in 2022 against Kevin Holland, but it was due to a doctor’s stoppage. 

Meanwhile, Bonfim is on a tear. His only slip-up was a surprise TKO loss he suffered to Nicolas Dalby back in November of 2024, but he came back with two straight wins. He earned a decision against Ange Loosa and then performed a Brabo Choke to end Kalinn Williams in his last fight. Marretinha is a proven finisher, finishing 16 of his 17 wins via stoppage, including 13 submissions.

Bonfim has amassed three submission victories while in the UFC, and Thompson has historically been bad against ground specialists. I would predict that Gabriel’s plan is to take Thompson to the ground and work his way from there to build up to a submission. Wonderboy doesn’t have a great takedown defence, so I see Marretinha winning by a sub and continuing to climb the Welterweight ladder.