Gilbert Burns News

Adam D Martin - March 15, 2020

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns says it “hurt him” to have to put away legend Demian Maia with strikes at UFC Brasilia. Burns dropped Maia with a brutal left hook and immediately celebrated, thinking the referee would step in and stop the fight. But the ref didn’t ump in immediately, making Burns have to go down to the mat and finish Maia off with nasty hammer fists. For Burns, it was hard for him to do that considering how much Maia means to young Brazilian jiu-jitsu grapplers such as him, but at the end of the day, he had to do his job.

Chris Taylor - March 14, 2020

Former UFC title challenger Demian Maia took on surging welterweight contender Gilbert Burns in the co-headliner of tonight’s UFC Brasilia event. Maia (28-10 MMA) entered the bout on a three-fight winning streak, his latest being an impressive submission victory over Ben Askren at UFC Singapore.

Chris Taylor - March 14, 2020

A welterweight bout between division standouts Demian Maia and Gilbert Burns served as the co-headliner of today’s UFC Brasilia event. Maia (28-9 MMA) entered the bout on a three-fight win streak, his latest being a submission victory over Ben Askren this past October.

Chris Taylor - March 14, 2020

A welterweight bout between division standouts Demian Maia and Gilbert Burns serves as the co-headliner of today’s UFC Brasilia event. Maia (28-9 MMA) will enter the bout on a three-fight win streak, his latest being a submission victory over Ben Askren this past October.

Cole Shelton - January 10, 2020

Gilbert Burns believes the welterweight division has become stagnant, just like the lightweight division was when Conor McGregor was the champion. When that was happening, Burns had a hard time getting fights or ranked opponents. So, in 2019 he decided to move up to welterweight. Immediately, he got two short-notice fights against Alexey Kunchenko and Gunnar Nelson, and he won both. But, now with a number beside his name, he feels it is hard to get fights at 170 pounds.

Cole Shelton - January 8, 2020

Gilbert Burns got his wish as he will indeed fight Demian Maia in the co-main event of UFC Brasilia. Yet, the fight almost didn’t come to fruition. Burns, who is now 2-0 at welterweight with two short-notice wins over Alexey Kunchenko and Gunnar Nelson says mutual friends between him and Maia said the Brazilian legend didn’t want to take the fight.

Adam Martin - December 23, 2019

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns says the UFC has offered him a fight against the legend Demian Maia next March in Brazil. Burns spoke to MMA journalist Drake Riggs following his recent grappling match against Craig Jones and told the scribe the UFC wants him to fight Maia next. Here’s what Burns said.

Cole Shelton - November 11, 2019

Gilbert Burns has his eyes set on Anthony Pettis for his next fight. Burns, who is on a four-fight winning streak, has taken back-to-back short notice fights at welterweight. There, he handed Alexey Kunchenko his first loss as a pro and followed that up with a decision win over Gunnar Nelson to enter the top-15 of the division.

Harry Kettle - October 18, 2019

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns has gone after divisional rival Ben Askren on social media, and the man himself has taken the time to respond. Burns (17-3) has been making the headlines over the course of the last few months after taking two short-notice fights, winning them both against Alexey Kunchenko and Gunnar Nelson. The victories took his unbeaten streak to four, with his only defeat in the last seven coming at the hands of Dan Hooker.

Harry Kettle - October 11, 2019

UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns has confirmed that he would be interested in another short notice fight before the end of 2019. Burns (17-3) has already fought three times this year and four times within the last 10 months, winning all four contests in the process. His most recent success came back at UFC Copenhagen just a few short weeks ago, where he was able to outwork Gunnar Nelson en-route to a unanimous decision victory.

Adam Martin - October 7, 2019

UFC heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou is urging the promotion to book him for a fight, and a surprise opponent has thrown his name in the hat. “The Predator” took to Twitter to express his displeasure to the UFC for not booking him in a fight since his knockout win over Junior dos Santos in June. It appears that Ngannou is getting restless and wants to fight again as soon as possible.

Natasha Hooper - October 3, 2019

Fan favorite Gunnar Nelson collided with Gilbert Burns in a welterweight bout at last weekend’s UFC Fight Night Copenhagen event. It marked the second time in a year that the Icelandic warrior had fought in Europe. Gunnar Nelson faced Leon Edwards at UFC London in March and left the Octagon with another loss and a broken orbital bone after receiving a nasty elbow. After healing from his injury and getting back to training, ‘Gunni’ was inked to fight Thiago Alves. However, Alves withdrew due to injury, leaving Gilbert Burns to fill in for the fight.

Tom Taylor - September 30, 2019

Long-time lightweight contender Gilbert Burns is now 2-0 in short-notice welterweight fights. Having discovered how well he performs in these short-notice fights, Burns is now angling to take another — in the middleweight division. When Eric Spicely was forced out of his UFC Boston showdown with Brendan Allen, Burns promptly offered to step in and replace him — despite the fact that the fight will be contested a full 30 pounds above his former division. And in case you thought he was kidding, he assures he’s not.

Natasha Hooper - September 28, 2019

Brazilian standout Gilbert Burns squared off with Gunnar Nelson in a welterweight bout earlier today at UFC Fight Night Copenhagen. Burns accepted the opportunity to fight Nelson on just two-weeks notice. Gunnar Nelson’s original opponent, Thiago Alves had to withdraw leaving the position open for Gilbert to fill. As a three-time BJJ champion, Gilbert Burns wanted the opportunity to challenge the ground game of Gunnar Nelson and put his grappling skills on full display.

Chris Taylor - September 28, 2019

A welterweight bout featuring Gilbert Burns taking on Gunnar Nelson co-headlined today’s UFC Copenhagen event in Denmark. Gunnar Nelson (17-4-1 MMA) entered tonight’s event looking to rebound, this after dropping a split-decision to Leon Edwards in his most recent Octagon appearance at March’s UFC London event.

Chris Taylor - September 28, 2019

A welterweight bout featuring Gilbert Burns taking on Gunnar Nelson co-headlines today’s UFC Copenhagen event in Denmark. Gunnar Nelson (17-4-1 MMA) will enter tonight’s event looking to rebound, this after dropping a split-decision to Leon Edwards in his most recent Octagon appearance at March’s UFC London event.

Tom Taylor - July 10, 2019

Gilbert Melendez seems to be nearing the end of his career as a professional fighter. Over the weekend, on the undercard of UFC 239, the former Strikeforce lightweight champion and UFC lightweight title challenger gave up a decision to British featherweight Arnold Allen. While Melendez did not retire outright after this loss, he does seem to be preparing to move on to the next phase of his career.

Cole Shelton - May 30, 2019

Gilbert Burns is looking to get into the top-15 of the UFC lightweight division, but that has been easier said than done. The Brazilian is riding a two-fight winning streak with wins over Olivier Aubin-Mercier and Mike Davis. However, the 32-year-old says many ranked fighters have simply turned down the contract to fight him. Burns wanted to fight Alexander Hernandez, Gregor Gillespie, and Charles Oliveira — among others. Unfortunately, he’s had no luck finding a willing dance partner.