Sports

UFC Fight Night 278: What Time Do Belal Muhammad and Gabriel Bonfim Fight?

By Michael Aldon Athlon Sports

The UFC returns to the Meta APEX in Las Vegas this Saturday, June 6, for a pivotal welterweight showdown. Former champion Belal Muhammad looks to snap a two-fight losing skid when he faces surging Brazilian finisher Gabriel Bonfim in the main event of UFC Fight Night 278.

For fans wondering how to catch the action, here is everything you need to know about viewing options, timing, and the full fight lineup.

Belal Muhammad Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC-GettyImages
Belal Muhammad Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC-GettyImages Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC-GettyImages

When It Starts

The event takes place on Saturday, June 6, 2026, exclusively at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

Unlike pay-per-views, this event streams entirely on Paramount+ in the United States.

Preliminary Card Start Time: 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT

Main Card Start Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT

Main Event Walk Times

The headline bout between Muhammad and Bonfim is expected to make the walk to the Octagon approximately four to five hours after the preliminary card begins. Based on the scheduled start times and standard pacing of the undercard, fans can expect the main event ring walks to begin around 10:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. PT

Full Fight Card

Here is the complete lineup for Saturday night. All bouts are subject to change.

Main Card

  • Belal Muhammad vs. Gabriel Bonfim (Welterweight)
  • Brendan Allen vs. Edmen Shahbazyan (Middleweight)
  • Fares Ziam vs. Tom Nolan (Lightweight)
  • Bryce Mitchell vs. Santiago Luna (Bantamweight)
  • Iwo Baraniewski vs. Junior Tafa (Light Heavyweight)

Preliminary Card

  • Matt Schnell vs. Alessandro Costa (Catchweight)
  • Marcus McGhee vs. John Yannis (Bantamweight)
  • Bruno Silva vs. Edgar Chairez (Flyweight)
  • Priscila Cachoeira vs. Chelsea Handler (Women's Bantamweight)
  • Jordan Leavitt vs. Joanderson Brito (Featherweight)
  • Jeisla Chaves vs. Yuneisy Duben (Women's Flyweight)
  • Ketlen Souza vs. Arian Carnelossi (Strawweight)

For a main event breakdown, read our previous article about the event.

Fight to Watch

Fares Ziam vs. Tom Nolan

While the co-main event carries rankings, the most fireworks on the main card may come from this lightweight clash between two rising strikers who are quite tall for the division.

French standout Fares Ziam (16-4) has quietly built a four-fight win streak, most recently finishing Nazim Sadykhov with hellacious elbows (via UFC France on X):

Listed at 6'1, Ziam has earned a no. 14 ranking in the lightweight division using his crisp Muay Thai, exceptional footwork, and underrated defensive grappling. Ziam has evolved into a patient, technical sniper who breaks opponents down with efficient volume.

Across the cage, however, is the taller (6'3) Australian prospect Tom "Big Train" Nolan (10-1), who brings violence and finishing intent. Nolan has stopped three of his four UFC wins inside the distance, including his most recent outing, which resulted in a rear-naked choke submission on Charlie Campbell:

While Nolan is two inches taller in height, Ziam actually has the arm reach advantage, with a 75-inch reach over Nolan's 73 inches. Nolan also has a questionable chin, as the much smaller Victor Martinez dropped him in their 2024 UFC bout. Nolan, however, was able to rally in that fight and score the TKO victory with a perfectly-timed knee to the body, followed up by punches on the ground:

Underrated Prelims

Don't sleep on the preliminary card-two fights in particular promise violence.

Alessandro Costa vs. Matt Schnell (130-lb. Catchweight)

This featured prelim is a sneaky barnburner. Brazilian finisher Costa (15-5, six submission wins) took this bout on short notice but revealed he had already prepared for Schnell two years ago.

Schnell (17-10), a durable veteran known for his own submission acumen, has never been in a boring fight. Expect scrambling, transitions, and a likely finish before the final bell.

Jeisla Chaves vs. Yuneisy Duben (Women's Flyweight)

The second fight of the night will be between two flyweight women who are just starting their UFC careers.

Jeisla Chaves has a fascinating story. The UFC rookie was a former ring girl for Muay Thai events in her home country of Brazil, and she will make her UFC debut with an undefeated MMA record.

Chaves earned a UFC contract last year on Dana White's Contender Series with an action-packed decision win over Sofia Montenegro.

She will face Duben, who is just as green, making her second walk to the UFC Octagon. Despite losing devastatingly to Carli Judice last year via headkick KO, Duben had an arguably more spectacular performance on Dana White's Contender Series when she knocked out Shannon Clark:

If Duben does not finish Chaves within the first half of the fight, expect an absolute firefight between two hungry UFC newcomers.

Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 1:10 AM.

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