38 year old Gilbert Burns has seen it all in MMA, from the highs to the lows. Now, it’s do-or-die as he is reportedly set to face one of the hottest prospects in the welterweight division.
‘Durinho‘ is 0-1 in UFC title shots, dropping the ball against Kamaru Usman in 2021. Now riding a three-fight losing streak – including Burns’ knockout loss to Jack Della Maddalena – its looking ever more of a pipe dream to see him at the top of the division.
Still, Burns could be granted the opportunity to springboard himself into contention with one more quality win.
Gilbert Burns gets brutally honest on fighting Michael Morales
Burns is slated to face undefeated No. 13-ranked welterweight contender Michael Morales at the unconfirmed Miami event later this year, first reported by AG.Fight on January 10. Morales most recently knocked out Neil Magny to improve to 17-0, 6-0 inside the UFC.
The UFC has yet to announce anything official about the fight or event, but this hasn’t stopped Burns from speculating over the fight.
Speaking on the Show Me The Money Podcast, Burns regarded Morales as “high-level,” but admits, “I can’t afford to lose.”
“I think the guy’s very good,” Burns said. “High-level… Crazy finishes… He’s very tough. … The fight’s not officially a done deal but I think he’s going to play. … But as Money Moicano says, ‘I can’t afford to lose, it’s three [losses] already.’
“The injury against Belal, and then the knockout against [Jack Della Maddalena], and then the last one [against Sean Brady] for me was a hard one to swallow. … Now, I’m gonna do everything in my power to perform.”
Gilbert Burns’ UFC record against undefeated fighters
Burns has had a rocky history with undefeated fighters in the UFC. Most recently, Burns was defeated by Khamzat Chimaev in a 2022 fight of the year contender. Though, he was the first to put a real dent in ‘Borz’ and took him to the scorecards for the first time ever.
‘Durinho’ was the first man to defeat former M-1 Global champion Alexey Kunchenko in 2019. ‘Wolverine’ was 20-0 at the time, with high profile wins over Thiago Alves and Yushin Okami. Before this, Burns defeated 9-0 Andreas Stahl in his UFC debut.