UFC 291 Prelims: Undefeated Gabriel Bonfim Drops Guillotine on Trevin Giles

SLICK SUBMISSION FROM BONFIM 😨#UFC291 is LIVE on ESPN+ PPV 🍿 pic.twitter.com/jIaAQnPaIH

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 30, 2023

All Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweights should be on high alert as it relates to Gabriel Bonfim.

The unbeaten Cerrado MMA export disposed of Trevin Giles with a guillotine choke in the first round of their featured UFC 291 prelim on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Giles (16-5, 7-5 UFC), who entered the cage on a two-fight winning streak, raised the white flag of surrender 1:13 into Round 1.

Bonfim (15-0, 2-0 UFC) applied maximum pressure from the outset, connected with a clubbing overhand left and secured a takedown inside the first 40 seconds. He caught the guillotine during a subsequent scramble, tightened his vice-like squeeze and elicited the tapout.

Vergara Outpoints Overweight Salvador

Onetime Fury Fighting Championship titleholder C.J. Vergara outstruck and outworked Vinicius Salvador to a unanimous decision in a three-round flyweight scrap. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards for Vergara (12-4-1, 3-2 UFC), a 32-year-old Pete Spratt protégé.

Salvador (14-6, 0-2 UFC)—who missed weight for the match by 2.5 pounds—committed to kicks to the upper and lower leg throughout an uneventful first round. Lack of output plagued the Brazilian as the bout progressed. Vergara pieced together body-head combinations across the final 10 minutes, darted in and out of range, damaged the outside of his opponent’s lead leg with kicks and kept momentum in his corner.

Vergara has recorded eight wins in 10 outings.

Kopylov Kick Levels Ribeiro

Former Fight Nights Global champion Roman Kopylov cut down Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Claudio Ribeiro with a picture-perfect head kick in the second round of their middleweight encounter. Ribeiro (11-4, 1-2 UFC) bit the dust 33 seconds into Round 2.

Related » UFC 291 Round-by-Round Scoring

The 32-year-old Kopylov (11-2, 3-2 UFC) patiently probed for openings for much of the first round, piling up points with front kicks to the body, leg kicks, stabbing left hands and a sneaky jab. Ribeiro rattled the Russian with a right hand with time winding down and flurried for a potential finish along the fence. It never materialized. At the start of the middle stanza, Kopylov feinted with his jab and fired the head kick behind it. The sickening sound of bone-on-bone impact followed, as Ribeiro fell backward with a distant stare in his eyes. Kopylov delivered one final hammerfist before referee Marc Goddard could arrive on the scene.

Kopylov will enter his next assignment on the strength of three straight wins.

Matthews Choke Subdues Flowers

“The Ultimate Fighter Nations” alum Jake Matthews dispatched promotional newcomer Darrius Flowers with a rear-naked choke in the second round of their welterweight tilt. A fill-in for Miguel Baeza, Flowers (12-6-1, 0-1 UFC) checked out 2:37 into Round 2, his four-fight winning streak at an end.

Matthews (19-6, 12-6 UFC) answered the Chicago Fight Team representative’s initial burst of aggression with clean counters and beautiful body blows. After Flowers required a brief respite due to an accidental low blow in the second round, his situation deteriorated rapidly. Matthews sprawled on a takedown, threatened with a kimura and moved to full mount. Damaging punches forced Flowers to turn away from contact, at which point he was open to be choked. Matthews obliged.

The 28-year-old Matthews has won five of his last seven bouts.

Replacement Medic Torpedoes Semelsberger

Kings MMA product Uros Medic put away Matthew Semelsberger with a spinning back fist and follow-up punches in the third round of their welterweight clash. A late replacement for Yohan Lainesse, Medic (9-1, 3-1 UFC) brought it to a close 2:36 into Round 3.

Semelsberger (11-6, 5-4 UFC) seized the reins in a chaotic first round, where he landed some jarring standing-to-ground punches during one sequence and floored his counterpart with a surgical right hand in another. However, the resilient Medic was unwilling to go away quietly. He turned the tide in a closely contested middle stanza and exploited a visibly fatigued Semelsberger in the third. Medic uncorked a thudding two-punch combination, backed the Crazy 88 MMA standout to the fence and cut loose with a spinning backfist. He connected with the forearm, and Semelsberger hit the canvas in a dazed state. More punches followed, necessitating the stoppage.

Medic has rattled off back-to-back victories since his September 2021 submission defeat to Jalin Turner.

Maverick Armbar Submits Cachoeira

Elevation Fight Team’s Miranda Maverick turned away Priscila Cachoeira with an armbar in the third round of their women’s flyweight pairing. A short-notice substitution for Joanne Wood, Maverick (12-5, 5-3 UFC) drew the curtain 2:11 into Round 3.

Cachoeira (12-5, 4-5 UFC) was a non-factor. Maverick struck for takedowns in all three rounds, moved from one dominant position to the next—she achieved full mount twice—and applied her ground-and-pound. She climbed to mount against the MMA Masters rep midway through the third round, transitioned to the armbar and activated her hips to prompt the tapout.

The loss snapped Cachoeira’s two-fight winning streak.