Gilbert Burns Retires: A Look Back at His Legendary UFC Career

UFC Winnipeg was that kind of card that had everything – a couple of fantastic fights, one of the worst robberies of the year, a draw, referee action, referee inaction, a devastating knockout, and a couple of impressive finishes.

But while Mike Malott got the win at UFC Winnipeg, taking himself one step further up the welterweight ranks, there needs to be a dedicated spotlight on his opponent, Gilbert Burns.

After Malott scored the victory, he gave time in his post-fight interview to praise Burns for all he has done in and out of the Octagon. Burns then got his own time to speak, laying his gloves down and retiring from the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. And while Burns never won a UFC championship, he should be saluted as a fantastic athlete who gave his all to the sport.

Burns’ path to MMA started with Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In fact, the story goes that Burns’ father got Burns and his brothers three months of jiu-jitsu lessons as payment from a car repair customer. That deal, and those three months of training, set Burns on a path that helped him land in the UFC.

Burns became a Brazilian and European jiu-jitsu champion, then went on to win several world titles in the discipline. Then, in 2015, Burns won a bronze medal at the 2015 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championships.

It was 2012 when Burns made his professional MMA debut, starting his career with seven first-round finishes. That was the same year he served as a coach on Vitor Belfort’s team for The Ultimate Fighter.

A couple of years later, the UFC came calling, and he debuted in the promotion in July 2014, scoring a decision win over Andreas Stahl. He started his UFC tenure 6-3, but it was in late 2018 that Burns started to really find a groove.

He racked up six straight wins, moving up to welterweight during that time frame. His wins in that span included a victory over Olivier Aubin-Mercier, a first-round finish of Demian Maia, and a decision win over former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.

Those performances led Burns to a welterweight title shot against Kamaru Usman at UFC 258. Burns troubled Usman early in the fight, scoring a first-round knockdown, and he was seemingly moments away from capturing the gold. But Usman stormed a comeback, eventually finishing Burns in the third round.

It was a heartbreaking defeat. And unfortunately, it was the start of a skid for Burns over the remaining five years of his UFC career. Burns’ last 10 Octagon bouts, which includes the loss to Usman, saw him go just 3-7.

Burns’ loss to Malott was his fifth straight. At 39 years old, Burns’ retirement is unsurprising, but still unfortunate. He fought so many of today’s fantastic UFC athletes and earned a number of post-fight bonuses. And that’s why while it’s disappointing he never got the UFC gold, he still should go down as a memorable UFC competitor.

And the thing is, he still can do great things in the sport. He will be in the corner of his teammates. He will prepare them for their fights. Maybe we can still see Burns in jiu-jitsu and submission grappling competitions.

“Durinho” has always been considered a man of class. And it was uplifting to see the Canadian crowd give him such a warm ovation and thank you as Burns rode off into the sunset.

Thank you, Gilbert Burns, and congratulations on a tremendous career.