Gilbert Burns News

Gilbert Burns believes Jake Paul will be a difficult boxing matchup for Tyron Woodley
Adam D Martin - July 26, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns believes that Jake Paul will prove to be a difficult boxing matchup for Tyron Woodley. Paul and Woodley meet on August 29 in a highly-anticipated professional boxing matchup between the YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul and the former UFC welterweight champion Woodley. One man who will be tuning into watch this fight is Burns, who last year defeated Woodley via unanimous decision in the UFC. If there’s anyone who knows Woodley well it’s the man who spent 25 minutes in the cage with him, and when you ask Burns about how the Woodley vs. Paul boxing match will go, he’s not confident in Woodley (via TMZ Sports).

Gilbert Burns explains why he wants to fight Leon Edwards next: "He is the toughest guy in the division"
Adam D Martin - July 23, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns explained why he wants to fight Leon Edwards next, saying “he is the toughest guy in the division.” Burns is coming off of a unanimous decision win over Stephen Thompson earlier this month at UFC 264 that reaffirmed his spot among the top-five welterweights in the world. Coming off of a brutal knockout loss to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman earlier this year, Burns knew that his back was against the wall and that he needed to beat “Wonderboy,” and he did just that. By defeating Thompson, Burns cemented his spot as an elite welterweight, and he has spent the last few weeks calling out the other top fighters.

Gilbert Burns and Jake Shields get into heated exchange following the Brazilian's callout of Nate Diaz
Cole Shelton - July 21, 2021
Gilbert Burns and Jake Shields got into a heated argument on social media after the Brazilian called out Nate Diaz. Burns, who returned to the win column with a decision win over Stephen Thompson at UFC 264 is looking to find his next opponent. He called out several welterweights like Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz. Yet, Shields, who is a longtime teammate of Diaz didn’t think kindly of Burns’ callout.

Gilbert Burns reiterates callouts to Leon Edwards, Jorge Masvidal, and Nate Diaz
Adam D Martin - July 21, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns reiterated his callouts to divisional rivals Leon Edwards, Jorge Masvidal, and Nate Diaz. Earlier this month at UFC 264, Burns defeated Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision, and then used his post-fight interview as an opportunity to call out Edwards, Masvidal, and Diaz. It’s been a few weeks since then and we haven’t heard any of these other fighters say they will accept Burns’ callout. That’s why “Durinho” took to his social media on Wednesday and once again called out Edwards, Masvidal, and Diaz for an upcoming fight.

Gilbert Burns issues statement following decision win over Stephen Thompson at UFC 264
Adam Martin - July 11, 2021
UFC welterweight title contender Gilbert Burns issued a statement following his unanimous decision win over Stephen Thompson at UFC 264. Burns entered the fight against Thompson as the slight underdog, but he picked up the upset victory as he was able to take down and control Thompson on the ground to win a unanimous decision on all three of the judges’ scorecards. Following a TKO loss to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman earlier this year at UFC 258, Burns needed to bounce back with a win over Thompson to keep his No. 2 ranking and he did just that.

Stephen Thompson issues statement following UFC 264 loss to Gilbert Burns
Adam D Martin - July 11, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson issued a statement following his unanimous decision loss at UFC 264 to Gilbert Burns. Thompson was expected to be in contention to get a title shot against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman with a win over Burns at UFC 264, but the fight did not go his way at all. Despite Thompson having statistically some of the best takedown defense in the UFC welterweight division, Burns was still able to get him down to the ground in all three rounds and control him as he was able to pull off a small upset with a decision victory.

Dana White reacts to Gilbert Burns defeating Stephen Thompson at UFC 264: “It wasn't a good fight, but he won"
Adam D Martin - July 11, 2021
UFC president Dana White reacted to Gilbert Burns defeating Stephen Thompson at UFC 264, saying that “it wasn’t a good fight, but he won.” Burns and Thompson were the co-headliners underneath the main event trilogy fight between lightweight stars Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. Although he entered the fight as the betting favorite, Thompson lost the match as Burns was able to take him down and control him on the mat to win a unanimous decision win. It wasn’t the most exciting fight to watch by any means, but Burns did what he had to do to go out there and get the win.

Pros react after Gilbert Burns defeats Stephen Thompson at UFC 264
Chris Taylor - July 10, 2021
Tonight’s UFC 264 event was co-headlined by a key welterweight matchup between former division title challengers Stephen Thompson and Gilbert Burns. Thompson (16-5-1 MMA) had entered the contest on a two-fight winning streak, this after earning back-to-back unanimous decision victories over Vicente Luque and Goeff Neal.

Jorge Masvidal says he wants to fight the winner of Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson
Cole Shelton - July 9, 2021
Jorge Masvidal is looking to fight the winner of Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson. Masvidal is coming off back-to-back losses to Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title and says he’s looking to return in the fall against any top-five opponent. His manager mentioned Nick Diaz and Colby Covington as possible options, but Diaz is targeted to return against Robbie Lawler while Covington will face Usman for the belt. With that, “Gamebred” says he wants to fight the winner of Burns-Thompson.

Gilbert Burns says it would be "easy money" to fight Nate Diaz
Adam D Martin - July 8, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns said it would be “easy money” if he were to step into the Octagon and fight against Nate Diaz. Burns takes on Stephen Thompson in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 264 pay-per-view card. Coming off of a TKO loss to UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, Burns is eager to get back into the Octagon and get back into the win column, and inch closer back to getting a title shot. But while Burns is focused on getting back to the title, he can’t help but look at the other fighters at 170lbs and wonder how those fights would play out.

Stephen Thompson expects Gilbert Burns to shoot early, "confident" he'll keep it standing to get the win and earn a title shot
Cole Shelton - July 6, 2021
Stephen Thompson is excited to finally fight up in the ranks. Ever since Thompson had his back-to-back fights against Tyron Woodley for the title his next five fights were fighters ranked below him. Yet, on Saturday night at UFC 264 that will change as he faces the second-ranked welterweight, Gilbert Burns in a scrap Thompson is excited about.

Gilbert Burns breaks down upcoming matchup with Stephen Thompson at UFC 264: "We have a very different style"
Adam D Martin - June 29, 2021
Gilbert Burns broke down his upcoming matchup with Stephen Thompson at UFC 264, saying that “we have a very different style.” Burns and Thompson meet in the co-main event of next weekend’s UFC 264 pay-per-view blockbuster event. This is a very important fight at 170lbs as both Burns and Thompson are ranked in the top-five of the division and looking to get closer to a title shot. Burns, of course, lost in his chance to become the UFC welterweight champion earlier this year when he was knocked out by Kamaru Usman at UFC 258, but Thompson hasn’t fought the champ yet and knows a win over Burns could get him where he wants to go. It’s a very fun fight between two fighters who are among the very best the 170lbs weight class has to offer.

Leon Edwards fires back at Gilbert Burns for suggesting he “wasn’t hungry” in fight with Nate Diaz: “You got knocked out with a jab”
Adam D Martin - June 23, 2021
Leon Edwards fired back at Gilbert Burns for suggesting he “wasn’t hungry” in the Nate Diaz fight, saying “you got knocked out with a jab.” Edwards won a unanimous decision over Diaz at UFC 263 earlier this month, but he wasn’t able to get the finish and nearly got stopped himself during a crazy fifth round of action. Although Edwards got his hand raised, UFC president Dana White stopped short of committing to giving him the next title shot despite being on a 10-fight unbeaten streak at the moment. White instead said that Colby Covington is next in line to fight UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. But one has to wonder if Edwards was able to go out there and finish Diaz if he would have been granted the title shot instead of Covington.

Nate Diaz unloads on “amateur” Gilbert Burns following his criticism of Leon Edwards' performance at UFC 263
Adam D Martin - June 23, 2021
UFC welterweight superstar Nate Diaz unloaded on “amateur” Gilbert Burns following his criticism of Leon Edwards’ performance at UFC 263. Edwards won a unanimous decision over Diaz at UFC 263 earlier this month. After winning the first four rounds of the fight, Diaz rocked Edwards in the fifth round with a Stockton slap followed by a straight left, and that’s the moment of the fight that most fans seem to remember about the match. Instead of Edwards going 10 straight fights without losing and earning a title shot against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, many fans were disappointed that Edwards wasn’t able to go out there and put the finishing touches on Diaz, and there are some people who think that Edwards’ stock actually went down.

Gilbert Burns says Leon Edwards "wasn't hungry" enough against Nate Diaz to earn title shot
Adam D Martin - June 22, 2021
UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns says that Leon Edwards “wasn’t hungry” enough against Nate Diaz to earn a title shot at 170lbs. Edwards won a unanimous decision over Diaz at UFC 263 earlier this month, but he was rocked badly in the fifth round of the fight and was nearly finished. Still, he got the win and now Edwards is on a 10-fight unbeaten streak. With that kind of a winning streak, there’s no surprise that Edwards is out there stumping for a title shot. But UFC president Dana White has already said that Colby Covington is next in line to fight UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who defeated Burns earlier this year at UFC 258 by knockout.

Vicente Luque explains why he will never fight Gilbert Burns
Cole Shelton - April 9, 2021
Vicente Luque and Gilbert Burns are both top-six welterweights, yet the two will never fight one another. Burns and Luque have been teammates and friends for years. Burns is coming off a TKO loss to his former teammate in Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title and will face Stephen Thomson at UFC 264. It’s a very intriguing matchup and Luque says he’s eager to see Burns face “Wonderboy” and he plans to help Burns out as much as possible.

UFC 264 adds dynamic welterweight bout between former title challengers Stephen Thompson and Gilbert Burns
Chris Taylor - April 2, 2021
A huge welterweight bout has been added to UFC 264, as ESPN is reporting that former title challengers Stephen Thompson and Gilbert Burns will collide on July 10. Thompson (16-4-1 MMA) is coming off of back-to-back unanimous decision victories over perennial division contenders Geoff Neal and Vicente Luque in his most recent Octagon appearances. ‘Wonderboy’ has gone 3-3 over his past six fight overall.

Kamaru Usman, Gilbert Burns cross paths at Sanford MMA: "We're going to see each other again soon, in the Octagon"
Tom Taylor - March 9, 2021
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and his latest opponent, Gilbert Burns, recently crossed paths at Sanford MMA in South Florida. For many years, Usman and Burns called themselves teammates at Sanford MMA. Eventually, however, Usman left the gym to train under Trevor Wittman in Colorado. Not long thereafter, he and Burns were booked to clash for the welterweight strap.