Gabriel Bonfim and the Call for an Encore

Gabriel Bonfim could not have made a more profound first impression with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as he took just 49 seconds to submit Mounir Lazzez with a guillotine choke in his Jan. 21 promotional debut. Now comes the difficult part: proving he has staying power.

The unbeaten Brazilian prospect will put his 14-0 record on the line when he faces Trevin Giles in the featured UFC 291 prelim on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Self-belief does not appear to be an issue for the surging 25-year-old Bonfim, who operates out of Cerrado MMA in Brasilia, Brazil.

“I don’t feel any pressure to remain undefeated,” he told Sherdog.com. “I’m highly confident in the work of my team, and I’m excited for the next chapters we’ll be writing. I’m feeling great and I’m in a great place. The UFC is the MMA World Cup. I feel very well prepared and confident.”

Giles, 30, should provide an interesting next test. The Houston native enters the cage on the strength of back-to-back victories over Louis Cosce and Preston Parsons. Giles has been part of the UFC rotation since 2017.

“Trevin is very experienced,” Bonfim said. “He’s been in the UFC for some time now, and he’s faced several opponents in the promotion. We studied him. He favors striking. His ground game is pretty basic. We’re going to work against him, showcasing our striking and boxing. Given a chance, we’ll take him down and catch him on the ground, which is what we always do.”

Should the favored Bonfim get past Giles, he has his sights set on a spot at a UFC Fight Night event on Nov. 4 in Brazil. More than a year has passed since he fought in his homeland.

“I want that very much,” he said. “I’d want to face an experienced fighter who’s ahead of me. I would even agree to fight someone in the Top 15.”