UFC Nashville Co-Main Event Preview and Prediction: Stephen Thompson – Gabriel Bonfim

UFC Nashville goes down tomorrow night and we will see a very intriguing matchup in the welterweight division. Former title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (17-8-1) will look to defend his spot in the rankings against Gabriel Bonfim (17-1).

Starting with Wonderboy, he’s looking to bounce back after back-to-back losses to Shavkat Rakhmonov and Joaquin Buckley. Thompson was winning the Buckley fight in my eyes but he got caught with a huge shot in the third that finished him. That dropped him to just 1-4 in his last five fights.

Bonfim earned a UFC contract on The Contender Series back in 2022 and started out 3-0 in side the octagon which made him 15-0. However, that’s when he ran into Nicolas Dalby who stopped him in the second round. Since that loss to Dalby, Bonfim has bounced back well with two straight wins. With a win over Wonderboy, Bonfim would jump into the rankings.

UFC Nashville Prediction

This fight is going to come down to the strategy of Bonfim. Wonderboy is an excellent point fighter and I can see him really frustrating Bonfim on the outside from his karate range. If Bonfim is content with trying to have a striking battle with Wonderboy, there’s a clear path to a decision loss for him.

However, after flirting with the striking, I think you’ll see Bonfim go to the takedowns which is going to tell the final story at UFC Nashville. I think that Bonfim will be able to get this fight to the ground and do enough on the ground to win a decision over the former title challenger.

Prediction: Gabriel Bonfim by Decision