Gilbert Burns was once a title contender but he is facing a downfall in his UFC career. The UFC welterweight division is stacked with impressive fighters and Burns has faced a loss against some of the top-ranked ones.
At UFC 299, Burns was part of a high-quality main card at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. The main card fights began with a bantamweight bout between former champion Petr Yan and Song Yadong. Yan was on a three-defeat streak but he dominated Yadong to win the bout via unanimous decision.
Burns faced Jack Della Maddalena next. The Brazilian attempted several takedowns and succeded but could not do much except gain an advantage on the scores. He was heading for a decision victory before being knocked out by the Aussie.
Thank you, Miami 🌴#UFC299 pic.twitter.com/S1rJMUTHlA
— UFC (@ufc) March 10, 2024
Next, Michael ‘Venom’ Page made a successful UFC debut as he defeated Kevin Holland via unanimous decision. In the co-main event, Dustin Poirier was set to go to war against Frenchman Benoit Saint-Denis. BSD likely took home the first round but got knocked out by an efficient Poirier. In the main event, Sean O’Malley put up a clinical display to retain his title and earn a unanimous victory against Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
Once a title contender, Gilbert Burns seems to slip down in the UFC welterweight rankings
Burns is a former BJJ world champion and his MMA fights reflect his background. His takedowns are immaculate and he has won a majority of his pro-MMA bouts via submissions. Burns is a UFC veteran as he is about to complete a decade at the company. He made his UFC debut in July 2014 with a win over Andreas Ståhl.
Varsity status. #UFC258 pic.twitter.com/sxvEWKXveJ
— UFC (@ufc) February 14, 2021
After a rocky start to his UFC career, in 2018, he began an impressive six-match winning streak that led him to a title shot against Kamaru Usman at UFC 258 in 2021. Burns lost that fight via TKO early in the third round.
Following that loss, he is 3-3 in the UFC including his latest loss. He has lost to Khamzat Chimaev, Belal Muhammad and Maddalena. All these fighters and a few others seem to be ahead of him in the title shot against Leon Edwards.
Gilbert Burns was extremely close to victory before Jack Della Maddalena reversed his fortunes at UFC 299
Although Maddalena is the stronger fighter on feet, Burns arguably had the better shots before being knocked out. In the first round, Burns started with a few good strikes and moved into the takedown attempts. He had Maddalena on the defensive from the off. The Aussie kept trying to break free from Burns’ takedowns while attempting some significant strikes of his own.
What a finish to this fight by Jack Della Maddalena 👏
He pulls through in round three to get the TKO! #UFC299 pic.twitter.com/be6pIihdvO
— UFC (@ufc) March 10, 2024
This was the story for the second round as well. The beginning of the third round looked similar. After three minutes of back-and-forth on the ground, Maddalena pulled off an impressive reversal and struck Burns with a knee right in the face. The devastating knee took Burns out. The Brazilian fell and Maddalena pounded on his opponent before the referee called it a stoppage, which according to many fans, was a late stoppage.
FORGET DUSTIN POIRIER 🚫💎
Gilbert Burns is the best fighter to never win an undisputed title.#UFC299 pic.twitter.com/cFnkgLZGTl
— Mᴀʀᴛʏs Hᴀɪʀʟɪɴᴇ (@MmaUnderdogs) March 10, 2024
After the fight, it was revealed that Burns led 20-18 on two judges’ cards and one judge scored the fight 19-19 after two rounds. An average round would have won the fight for Burns. However, it was not meant to be. Maddalena was too strong in the end. Burns was seen crying after the fight. It is tough to predict the future of the Brazilian fighter. He will have to collect a streak of wins starting from a lower-ranked opponent to get back on top.
