Belal Muhammad vows return after third straight loss leaves former champion winless for two years

Belal Muhammad has responded to his third consecutive defeat with a composed Instagram post, vowing to return after Gabriel Bonfim handed him a lopsided decision loss in the main event of UFC Vegas 118 on Saturday night at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.

The defeat extends a painful run for the former welterweight champion, who has not won a fight in two years. Muhammad captured the title with a victory over Leon Edwards at UFC 304 in July 2024, but has since dropped all three of his subsequent bouts — surrendering the belt to Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in May 2025, then falling to Ian Machado Garry at UFC Qatar in November, before Saturday’s loss to Bonfim.

Rather than dwell on the setback, Muhammad used his first public statement to strike a reflective tone. “Alhamdillah for everything, [too] blessed to be stressed,” he wrote. “You don’t find out who you are when everything goes your way. You find out when it doesn’t. Grateful for the journey, grateful for the lessons. I’ll be back.”

He also took the opportunity to celebrate a teammate. “Thank you to all my supporters my team and family,” Muhammad added, “congrats my brother [Brendan Allen] on his big win — his hard work paying off on his way to the title.” Allen defeated Edmen Shahbazyan in the co-main event of the same card.

The tone of Muhammad’s message stands in contrast to the severity of his current slide. Three straight losses — each a decision — represent the starkest dip of his career, and the question of where he goes from here in a competitive welterweight division will loom large in the coming weeks.