Gilbert "Durinho" Burns is the current #5 ranked UFC Welterweight Fighter with a professional MMA record of 22 wins and 6 losses. Burns has a 3rd-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is a Gold Medalist at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Gilbert Burns lost his fight against Belal Muhammad at UFC 288 on May 6, 2023.
Gilburt Burns started his combat sports journey at age 12 when he started learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Burns won 2-medals at the IBJJF World Championship, which got him promoted to a black belt. He continued his impressive career by winning a silver in the 2009 edition of the IBJJF World Championship Burns later ventured outside America and reached the semi-final in the European Open, followed by winning the Brazilian National win in 2010.
2010 was a successful year for Burns as he won the World Professional Jiu-Jitsu- Cup and the World No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship. He followed it by finally winning the IBJJF World Championships in 2011. Gilbert went on a hiatus in 2012 and returned in 2013 to win the NoGi World Championship.
Burns is still an active grappler and lost his latest bout in 2021 against Lucas Barbosa via rear-naked choke submission.
Gilbert Burns's current grappling record stands at 44-19.
Burns made his professional MMA debut in 2012 at CFC 5 against Jose Salgado. He used his superior grappling experience and submitted Salgado inside 3-minutes via a rear-naked choke.
Burns continued his winning momentum as he went on a 7-fight win streak in the regional MMA circuit, with all his wins coming in the first round. Following this, he signed with the UFC in 2014.
Gilbert Burns made his UFC debut at UFC on Fox 12: Lawler vs. Brown against Viscardi Andrade. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Burns then dropped down to Lightweight to fight Christos Giagos at UFC 179. Gilbert submitted Giagos via armbar in the first round with 3-seconds left on the clock to earn his first Performance of the Night bonus.
He won his next bout against Alex Oliveira before fighting Rashid Magomedov at UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 3. Magomedov dropped Burns twice and outclassed him during the entire fight to win via unanimous decision and hand Burns his first loss in MMA.
After this, Burns went 3-2 in his next 5-fights, with his losses coming at the hands of Michael Prazeres and Dan Hooker. Burns regained momentum after the Hooker loss and went on to win his next 2-fights against Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Mike Davis before moving up to Welterweight at UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2 against Alexey Kunchenko. Burns secured a unanimous decision victory over Alexey.
He won his next 3-fights in Welterweight against Gunnar Nelson, Demian Maia, and Tyron Woodley to earn a title shot at the UFC Welterweight Championship against Kamaru Usman at UFC 251. Unfortunately, Burns tested positive for COVID-19, and the bout got rebooked for UFC 256 and later rescheduled to UFC 258.
Burns dropped Usman in the first round but failed to finish the champion as Usman recovered and dominated Burns. The fight ended in the third round with Usman TKO'ing Burns via punches.
Gilbert bounced back from the loss and defeated Stephen Thompson at UFC 264 via unanimous decision.
Below is the professional MMA record of Gilbert Burns
Gilbert Burns fought Stephen Thompson at UFC 264. Burns came to the fight with a clear strategy of out-grappling Thompson and nullifying his superior striking ability. Gilbert successfully Stephen down after 2 minutes with a single leg takedown to land some ground-and-pound before Thompson returned to the feet.
The second round was more strategic as both fighters were patient and waited for the opportunity to strike. Burns got a hold of Thompson with a takedown in the last 30 seconds of the fight as the round ended with both strikers punching each other in the ground pocket like a Pride FC fight.
Burns got caught by a Thompson spinning kick that forced him to be more defensive for the remainder of the fight. Gilbert nullified Thompson's aggression by pinning him along the fence to wait out the clock while connecting with occasional strikes.
The bout ended on the judge's scorecard, who awarded the fight to Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision.
*Last updated on May 7, 2023
Gilbert Burns has had six losses in the UFC so far.
Gilbert Burns is currently ranked as the No.5 contender in the UFC welterweight division.
Gilbert Burns is known for his striking.
