Gilbert “Durinho” Burns is all set to step into the Octagon to stop the monster Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273 on Saturday April 9, 2022 in a Welterweight bout.
He is the current #2 ranked UFC Welterweight Fighter with a professional MMA record of 20-wins and 4-losses.
Burns won his UFC debut against Viscardi Andrade before dropping down to Lightweight division to fight Christos Giagos at UFC 179. He earned his first Performance of the Night bonus that night by winning via submission.
He won his next bout against Alex Oliveira but then tasted his first loss against Rashid Magomedov. He was dropped twice and totally outclassed in the fight and eventually lost via unanimous decision.
After this, Burns went 3-2 in his next 5-fights, with his losses coming at the hands of Michael Prazeres and Dan Hooker.
Gilbert regained momentum after his last loss against Hooker 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 258.
Gilbert Burns’ loss to Kamaru Usman
At UFC 258, Burns failed to win the title bout against his former teammate, Kamaru Usman. He lost via TKO at 34 sec in the 3rd-round.
Usman landed a right hand as he was switching stances to floor Burns. Then slammed Burns with punches on the ground until referee Herb Dean pulled him off.
Burns rocked Usman twice early with huge right hands. But Usman hung in through a tumultuous first round.
But then he got over excited and lost sight of a winning strategy that led to Usman’s comeback and subsequent TKO in round three.
In the second round, Usman dropped Burns twice, the second time with a jab. In the third, Usman put Burns down with a powerful jab before pouncing him on the ground.
Burns later regretted trying to finish Usman in the opening round. He should have been more patient instead he went full kamikaze, trying to blast his way through Usman.
Both Burns and Usman were very emotional after the fight. They shared a hug in the middle of the Octagon while Burns had blood and tears running down his face.
After that loss he has bounced back and defeated Stephen Thompson at UFC 264 via unanimous decision.
Now he awaits his biggest challenge against Khamzat Chimaev. While he knows Khamzat is a very tough opponent, he is confident that he can prove a lot of people wrong by slaying the “The Borz” at UFC 273.
Also read: Gilbert Burns Makes Bold Predictions for Fight Against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273