Gabriel Bonfim loses Sean Brady, UFC hunts for a replacement
Brady got hurt nine days before UFC Vegas 124, and the promotion is scrambling to find a new opponent for the Brazilian finisher.
Brazilian welterweight Gabriel Bonfim has lost his opponent for the UFC Vegas 124 main event, set for Nov. 7 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Sean Brady is injured and out of the fight, nine days before the event. The UFC is now looking for a short-notice replacement.
Brazilian journalist Laerte Viana first reported the injury on Thursday, and MMA Fighting later confirmed it, according to Sherdog. The nature of the injury has not been disclosed.
What was at stake in Bonfim vs. Brady
The five-round bout matched two top-10 welterweights. Bonfim, 29, from Brasília, is 20-1 and riding a five-fight winning streak.
His last win was the biggest of his career: a unanimous decision over former champion Belal Muhammad in June. Since then, he has been waiting for another big name to move closer to a title shot.
Brady, from Philadelphia, is 19-2. In his most recent fight, in May, he beat Joaquin Buckley by unanimous decision at UFC 328. Buckley has since returned and was knocked out by Mike Malott with a knee at UFC Edmonton.
Two submission threats on a collision course
The matchup had special appeal for jiu-jitsu fans. Bonfim, a brown belt according to his official UFC profile, has submitted 13 of the 20 opponents he has beaten in MMA.
One of his best UFC finishes was a brabo choke on Khaos Williams with two seconds left in the second round in February 2025. That November, he showed the other side of his game by knocking out Randy Brown with a knee.
Brady is a jiu-jitsu black belt with six submission wins. The most famous came in March 2025 in London, when he caught former champion Leon Edwards in a guillotine in the fourth round.
There was another link between the two. Belal Muhammad, Bonfim’s latest victim, handed Brady the first loss of his career, a second-round TKO at UFC 280 in 2022.
Brady did not lose again until November 2025, when he was stopped in the first round by Michael Morales, who now faces Carlos Prates for the interim title at UFC 336.
What the change means for Gabriel Bonfim
The timing is tough for the Brazilian. The win over Muhammad put him near the group chasing the belt, and a fight against another top-ranked name would have been the natural next step. How much the new matchup means will depend on who accepts the fight on short notice.
October had already been a hard month for the Bonfim family. Gabriel’s brother, Ismael, was cut by the UFC after missing weight for a third time.
Suarez vs. Jandiroba stays on the card
While the UFC searches for a new opponent, the rest of the card stays intact. The co-main event is a strawweight bout between Tatiana Suarez and Virna Jandiroba.
The Brazilian is already thinking big: she is targeting a trilogy with Mackenzie Dern in early 2027, as VF Comunica reported. Dern also has a profile in our athlete database.
Who do you want to see fight Gabriel Bonfim on Nov. 7? Tell us in the comments.
Read more:
- Ismael Bonfim cut by UFC after his third weight miss
- Carlos Prates to fight Michael Morales for UFC interim title
- Virna Jandiroba targets Mackenzie Dern trilogy in early 2027
