One Step at a Time

Ismael Bonfim likes to keep his options open.

The 27-year-old Brazilian will carry a 12-fight winning streak into his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut when he takes on Terrance McKinney in a three-round lightweight clash as part of the UFC 283 undercard on Saturday at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. Bonfim finds purpose through narrowing his focus.

“I’m not thinking too far ahead,” he told Sherdog.com. “I mostly want my UFC debut to be a win, preferably by knockout or submission.”

Bonfim was raised by a fighting family, with older brother Odair Samuray serving as one of the driving forces behind his development and motivation.

“He had his own academy,” Bonfim said. “I started training when I was 5 or 6 years old. I grew up kickboxing, and I entered some tournaments while I was still a child. I then started training jiu-jitsu and saw I had a knack for it. I continued competing in both sports. This was all thanks to my older brother. He used to be a fighter but had already stopped competing.”

Bonfim made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of 15 in December 2011, as he was awarded a three-round unanimous decision over Lucas Oyapock at a regional event in Brazil. He rattled off six victories over his first eight appearances and established himself as a talent to watch on the South American scene. All the while, Bonfim had the backing of those who mattered most.

“My family has always been fully supportive,” he said. “We come from a large family. Everyone helped in any way possible. They all believed I could make it one day.”

There were some speed bumps along the way, most notably a submission loss to Renato Carneiro under the Jungle Fight banner in 2014. The setback forced Bonfim to re-examine his approach.

“I saw that I needed to be more complete,” he said. “I needed to train more seriously. Since then, it’s been over eight years without a loss. That loss completely changed the fighter I was in 2014, as opposed to who I am today.”

Bonfim signed with the Legacy Fighting Alliance in 2021, recorded two wins and then shifted gears for a major opportunity on Dana White’s Contender Series. There, he nailed down a UFC contract—alongside younger brother Gabriel Bonfim—with a unanimous decision over Nariman Abbasov in September. The siblings are set to draw their first Octagon assignments together in a matter of days.

“We’re fighting at home against foreigners,” Ismael said. “We’re training hard. We’re very motivated to put on a show.”

The elder Bonfim has his work cut out for him. The dynamic McKinney has won six of his past seven bouts, a technical knockout loss to the highly regarded Drew Dober the only hiccup. He last fought at UFC on ESPN 40, where he needed a little more than two minutes to put away Erick Gonzalez with a rear-naked choke.

“McKinney already has some UFC experience,” Ismael said. “He’s 3-1 in the promotion. He’s an exciting fighter. He’s always chasing a finish, just like I do. It makes me look forward to this fight even more, but I do see holes in his game. He’s a one-round fighter. He doesn’t have the stamina to go two or three rounds. It’s a matter of time. I envision a knockout or submission.”