Ismael Bonfim ‘finally got serious’ with diet after collapsing on scale before UFC fight

Ismael Bonfim is entering his UFC Abu Dhabi bout against Axel Sola on Saturday with a renewed commitment to proper weight management, a stark contrast to the harrowing weigh-in experience that nearly derailed his previous fight in November 2025.

Bonfim's last outing at lightweight ended in a second-round stoppage loss to Chris Padilla—a fight complicated by severe weight-cutting complications. The Brazilian fighter arrived at the UFC APEX needing to shed 8.8 pounds on weigh-in day and managed to cut 6.6, leaving him 2.2 pounds over the 155-pound limit. Extreme dehydration attempts triggered severe cramping, including a neck cramp that caused him to collapse on the scale before the official weigh-in. Despite medical evaluation and UFC support, Bonfim competed that night at just 170 pounds—10 pounds below his typical fight weight—and struggled to maintain intensity past the second round, attributing his poor performance directly to incomplete physical recovery.

"I relied too much on dehydration," Bonfim told MMA Fighting, explaining that he had arrived at fight week still carrying 22 pounds to lose. The experience prompted serious reflection. Initially, Bonfim and his team discussed moving to welterweight, but Bonfim reconsidered, recognizing that at 5'8" he was already undersized at lightweight and that jumping to 170 pounds would effectively end his career.

The turning point came when the UFC offered the Sola fight. "We finally got serious," Bonfim said, committing to keep his walk-around weight at or below 176 pounds and adopting a year-round dieting approach rather than reactive cuts after fight announcements. He acknowledged his previous pattern: training consistently while eating and drinking without restraint between fights, then scrambling during fight week—a cycle that left him mentally and physically compromised inside the cage.

Now 30 years old, Bonfim approaches Saturday with a different mindset, ready to sustain effort across three full rounds rather than gamble on early finishes. "The problem was that every time I got a fight booked, I was more worried about making weight than about performing," he reflected. With proper preparation behind him, Bonfim believes his skillset—which he describes as strong—will finally translate consistently to results.