Gilbert
Burns still has a prominent role to play in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight division.
The
Kill Cliff Fight Club representative years ago established
himself as a Top 10 commodity at 170 pounds by combining
world-class grappling skills with ever-improving standup and
leaving precious few weakness for opponents to exploit. Burns, who
has never suffered back-to-back losses in his career, joined the
UFC roster nearly nine years ago and now owns a 14-5 record inside
the Octagon. He last competed at
UFC
283, where he submitted “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 16
semifinalist
Neil Magny
with an arm-triangle choke in the first round of their Jan. 21
clash.
As Burns awaits word on his next assignment from UFC matchmakers, a
look at five of the many moments that have come to define him to
this point:
1. A Positive Introduction
Burns stepped in as a short-notice replacement for
Viscardi
Andrade and remained undefeated in a successful promotional
debut, as he took a unanimous decision from
Andreas
Stahl as part of the UFC on Fox 12 undercard on July 26, 2014
at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. All three cageside
judges scored it 29-28. Stahl pushed a merciless pace in the first
round, pressing the fight with forward movement, clinches and
punches. A well-placed uppercut from Burns left the Swede with a
damaged nose, compromised his ability to breathe and slowed his
advance. Over the course of the final 10 minutes, Burns established
himself with well-disguised knees and crisp punches. The Brazilian
struck for a takedown in the second round and cracked Stahl with a
spinning elbow on the break in the third, making the most of his
opportunities.
2. Cooling-Off Period
Former
M-1 Global
champion
Rashid
Magomedov cooled some of the hype surrounding Burns when he was
awarded a unanimous verdict over the Brazilian in their UFC Fight
Night 77 lightweight showcase on Nov. 7, 2015 at Geraldo Jose de
Almeida State Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Magomedov swept the
scorecards with 30-27 marks from the cageside judiciary. Burns
landed a pair of takedowns in the first round, but he lacked the
necessary tools on the feet. Magomedov picked apart the four-time
Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion with crisp combinations,
exquisite counters and kicks to the body and legs. He did his best
work in the second round, where an overhand right had Burns dancing
all over the cage on unsteady footing. Magomedov rode the momentum
into Round 3 and put more distance between himself and the
previously unbeaten Henri Hooft protégé.
3. Too Much Thump
Burns made it impossible to ignore him with a series of victories
inside the welterweight division, none more impressive than his
first-round knockout of
Demian Maia
in the UFC Fight Night 170 co-headliner on March 14, 2020 at Nilson
Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia, Brazil. He bolstered his resume in
stunning fashion and drew the curtain 2:34 into Round 1, becoming
the first fighter to stop Maia with strikes since
Nate
Marquardt had done so more than a decade earlier. Burns
initially ceded ground in the face of forward pressure from the
2007 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships
gold medalist and surrendered two takedowns. He eventually escaped
out the back door when Maia attempted to move to full mount,
returning to his feet and the safety of open space in the center of
the cage. Burns then floored his counterpart with a chopping
overhand left and pounced with rapid-fire hammerfists to prompt the
stoppage.
4. Point of Contention
Talk about seizing the moment. Burns let his intentions be known in
the loudest terms imaginable when he manhandled
Tyron
Woodley across five rounds and earned a unanimous decision in
the UFC on ESPN 9 main event on May 30, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas. Scores were 50-45, 50-44 and 50-44. Woodley once again
appeared tentative and out of sorts against a next-generation
competitor. Burns set the tone with a sublime first round, where he
swarmed the former champion with punches, floored him with a right
uppercut at close range and powered into top position. From there,
the Brazilian climbed to full mount, opened a serious cut above
Woodley’s left eye with an elbow strike and applied maximum
pressure from the top. Burns kept his foot on the gas for the
duration of the bout—even after he had built an insurmountable lead
on the scorecards—and showed he was the superior fighter in all
phases.
5. Access Denied
Kamaru
Usman retained his undisputed welterweight crown with a
stirring third-round technical knockout of Burns in the UFC 258
headliner on Feb. 13, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Usman
brought it to a close 34 seconds into Round 3, though it was far
from a typical title defense for the champion. Burns had “The
Nigerian Nightmare” reeling with an overhand right in the first
round and appeared to have him discombobulated at times. Usman,
however, slowly regained his faculties and started to seize
command. He relied more and more on a devastating jab from both
hands and floored Burns with the punch during a dominant second
round. Usman dropped the four-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world
champion again at the start of Round 3, sent a standing-to-ground
right crashing into his face and let fly with punches until referee
Herb
Dean had seen enough.