Gabriel Marretinha is confident that his style complements that of Belal Muhammad . The Brazilian faces the Palestinian in the main event of UFC Vegas 118 , in a fight that could propel him into the top 5 of the welterweight division (up to 77 kg). Despite acknowledging the former champion's qualities, the Brazilian intends to exploit weaknesses in his opponent's game to secure a victory in the Meta Apex octagon.
In an exclusive interview with SUPER LUTAS , Bonfim revealed that he underwent a three-month training camp focused on the fight. According to him, the intense preparation reflects the importance of the fight for his career. The athlete guaranteed he is mentally strong and ready for a battle on Saturday.
“We did a three-month training camp, a really long camp, preparing for June 6th, because it’s a very important fight in my career and we prepared well. My expectations are sky-high, it was three intense months of training camp because I’m going to fight Belal Mohamed, a former champion. So, my head is clear, I’m feeling great, and let’s go, Saturday is war!”, said Gabriel Marrentinha.
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The fighter also analyzed Belal Muhammad 's style , highlighting his constant pressure and tendency to advance to disrupt his opponents' game. On the other hand, he believes that his movement and volume of strikes can neutralize these characteristics. For Marretinha, the duel will serve as a decisive test to prove that he deserves a place among the top five in the division.
“He’s a guy who likes to move forward, likes to disrupt his opponents’ game. And his game meshed well with mine, because I move around a lot and play a lot of shots. It’s going to be a test, whether I like it or not, to see if I deserve to be in the top 5, right?” he continued.
Gabriel Marretinha highlights Belal Muhammad's strengths and weaknesses ahead of UFC Vegas 118.
Marretinha celebrates his UFC victory. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook/UFC
Facing an opponent known for his strong wrestling but with a low knockout rate in the UFC, Gabriel Marretinha is confident for the fight. The Brazilian believes that, despite Belal Muhammad 's strength in takedowns, his rival's limitations in striking, especially his lack of power in his punches, open the way for him to impose his game.
“His strengths are that he’s good at wrestling, right? He’s a guy who takes people down well, but at the same time he’s very bad with his hands. I think he’s very bad with his hands, weak strikes, weak punches, he has no knockout power at all, and many athletes who have fought him say the same thing, that he has no knockout power. So I can exploit that a lot, my fast and strong strikes, hurt him a lot and get the knockout, God willing,” analyzed the Brazilian fighter.
Bonfim assured that, if taken down, he is prepared to get back up using technique and resume the fight standing. The Brazilian also highlighted his jiu-jitsu skills, mentioning the high number of submissions in his career, and stressed that he can surprise his opponent on the ground at any moment, reinforcing a confident and strategic approach to the fight.
“(If I fall) we’ll get up, we’ll get up using technique and come back to striking, for sure. And if he falters too, we have 13 submissions in our careers, so we can submit him at any time. Great, man, perfect. That’s the mentality,” he stated.
Gabriel Marretinha is having a great run in the UFC.
With six wins and only one loss in the octagon, Gabriel Marretinha is having a great run in the welterweight division. The Brazilian has a streak of four consecutive victories and currently occupies the 11th position in the category's ranking.
On the other hand, Belal Muhammad is trying to maintain his position among the top names in the division. The athlete is going through a delicate moment in his career, coming off losses to Jack Della Maddalena and Ian Machado Garry , which puts extra pressure on his next performance.
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