At the UFC Vegas 111 main card, one of the Bonfim brothers, Ismael Bonfim, was scheduled to face Chris Padilla in a lightweight bout. However, Ismael stepped on the scale at 161 pounds, coming in five pounds over the limit, which forced the fight into a catchweight. As punishment, ‘Marreta’ received a 25 percent fine on his paycheck, which would go directly to Padilla’s purse, as per commission rules. But with only a few hours remaining before the event, a sudden cancellation scare started to float around.

During the weigh-ins, the 29-year-old looked extremely sick, and security had to assist him just to stand upright. Many assumed it was a weight-cut issue, but soon reports about a possible injury started circulating. With that, talks of the fight being pulled from the main card began spreading fast. Here’s everything you need to know.

Ismael Bonfim vs. Chris Padilla cancellation still remains a rumor

Although Ismael Bonfim clearly struggled during the weigh-ins, the cancellation of his fight against Chris Padilla is still just a rumor. The UFC hasn’t issued any official announcement. But with so little time left before the event, anything could happen, and even industry insiders suspect the fight might actually be in jeopardy.

Sports writer Adam Martin wrote on X, “Bonfim had to be helped to the back by UFC security. He looks sick and missed weight big time. I would not be surprised if that fight with Taco Padilla was scrapped.”

But Bonfim being sick might not be the real scary part here. After the Brazilian missed weight by an enormous five-pound margin, fans and some experts noticed a major shift in the betting line. Brett Kerman, who goes by The Fight Analyst on X, pointed out that as soon as Bonfim missed weight, a sudden wave of money started coming in on Chris Padilla to win in round one. Padilla went from a +700 underdog to +460 almost instantly.

Kerman wrote, “Looks like there has been significant line movement in the Ismael Bonfim and Chris Padilla fight at #UFCVegas111 11/7 at 12:00 p.m.: -238/+170  11/8 at 6:43 a.m.: -122/+102  Padilla in round 1: +700 ➡️ +460.  This comes after an egregious 5 lbs weight miss by Bonfim.”

Fans who follow the sport closely know what this reminds them of. At the last UFC Vegas 110 event, Isaac Dulgarian’s fight against Yair Del Valle turned into a full-blown betting scandal after unusual line movement happened right before the fight. That situation escalated so fast that even the FBI got involved.  Now, to be clear, no reports are suggesting the same thing has been going on here. But the similarities are hard to ignore, and people are definitely paying attention. 

That said, it’s not like Ismael Bonfim never had weight or injury scares before. He has dealt with those issues in the past. So, as we wait for more updates about the status of this fight, let’s take a look at his previous weight miss and injury history.

Marreta’s history of injury and weight issues

After missing weight at UFC Vegas 111, Ismael Bonfim is catching serious backlash from fans. But this isn’t the first time he missed weight by a big margin. Marreta missed weight by 3.5 pounds before his bout against UFC veteran Vince Pichel at UFC Fight Night 231. Disappointed by Bonfim’s lack of professionalism, Pichel wrote a long post on X and called him out.

Pichel wrote, “So as you know my fight is cancelled. My opponent didn’t even try to make weight and I decided to take away his ability to fight and make money for this unprofessionalism which I’m sure he regrets. I am huge on self responsibility and he showed none by his actions and by missing weight by so much so I decided to give him some for his actions.” 

The fight eventually got rescheduled for UFC 301, and Bonfim ended up defeating Pichel by unanimous decision. But weight issues aren’t the only setbacks he dealt with. In his last fight, Bonfim also suffered a serious injury. During his bout against Nazim Sadykhov in February, the 29-year-old Brazilian took a question-mark kick straight to his eye. 

The strike apparently compromised his vision and forced the doctor to intervene. After a detailed check, the fight ended in a doctor’s stoppage. Bonfim later compared the experience to how Tom Aspinall got eye poked by Ciryl Gane at UFC 321, saying in an MMA Fighting interview that he could relate to the heavyweight champ. 

So, with his UFC Vegas 111 fight still up in the air, we now have a clearer picture of his history dealing with weight issues and injuries. That said, do you think Ismael Bonfim will end up fighting Chris Padilla next? Or is a major scare waiting for him? Let us know in the comments section below.