Long before Gabriel Bonfim headlined his first UFC card, his eldest brother literally tore down walls to make that dream possible. The younger of two brothers who made it to the UFC, Gabriel and Ismael have Odair to thank for a lot of their success.
Odair was the first to discover martial arts, collecting aluminum cans and scrap metals to pay for karate lessons. Once their father, who struggled with alcoholism, abandoned the family, Odair stepped up as a provider, determined to keep everyone afloat.
Sign up for Paramount+ and watch UFC Fight Night: Muhammad vs. Bonfim live for no additional fee -- every UFC numbered event and UFC Fight Night is included with your subscription! Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year!
Odair worked, coached and chased opportunities wherever he could find them. His passion for martial arts compelled him to bet on it completely. The gamble was so extreme that he literally tore apart his family's home to create a gym.
"My mom said it was crazy," Gabriel told CBS Sports. "Basically, she goes to work and comes back, and the walls were knocked down to start the gym. But that was the beginning of a dream. The beginning of his dream and the beginning of our dream as well."
"I started to break the walls of the house, and my mother got mad," Odair, approximately 24 years Gabriel's senior, told MMA Fighting. "'You're destroying the house,' she said. And I responded, 'We'll buy another one later, let's keep breaking this one.'"
His compulsion created ripples through the Brazilian mixed martial arts scene. One of Odair's earliest pupils was Francisco Trinaldo, a 24-fight UFC veteran who spent a decade fighting on the sport's biggest stage.
That leap of faith was also the foundation for Gabriel's rise to UFC main eventer, when he headlines his first UFC Fight Night against former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad. A win could push Bonfim into the division's top five and within striking distance of a UFC title shot.
Should that moment come, it won't belong to Gabriel alone. Nor is it shared exclusively with Ismael Bonfim, his brother and fellow UFC fighter. Their ambition belongs to 12 siblings with decades between them.
At one point, it seemed more likely that Gabriel's older brother, Ismael, would become the family's breakout star. Ismael arrived in the UFC with significant hype and immediately delivered one of the promotion's most memorable debuts, knocking out Terrance McKinney with a flying knee. The finish was on CBS Sports' shortlist for 2023 KO of the Year. Gabriel's rise was quieter and less visually spectacular.
Three years later, Gabriel finds himself closest to championship contention. That reality means as much to Odair, the Bonfim brothers' head coach, as it does to the fighter stepping into Saturday's marquee.
"I think he's going to feel really accomplished because he's worked and continues to work for the success of everybody and the entire family," Gabriel said. "So, I think that when this happens, he's going to feel accomplished and that he made it."
For years, Odair carried the weight of a family on his shoulders while trying to create opportunities that didn't exist. Every lesson and sacrifice built the foundation beneath the Bonfim brothers' success.
"He worked to get us to the top," Gabriel said. "So, it's going to feel great for him and for the entire rest of the family as well."
Saturday's main event is the biggest fight of Gabriel's career. It could also be another step toward something larger than a UFC title.
For the Bonfim family, championship dreams didn't begin inside the Octagon. They started when one brother knocked down a wall, believing something better awaited on the other side.
Add CBS Sports on Google Join the Conversation comments
