Gilbert Burns earned a shot at Tyron Woodley by grounding the greatest grappler in UFC welterweight history.
The former UFC title challenger has been there and done that at 170lbs, fighting the likes of then champ Kamaru Usman, Khamzat Chimaev, Belal Muhammad and many more marquee names.
Burns, 38, gave newly-crowned welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena his toughest fight last year at UFC 299 by taking him down 7 times and would’ve won had JDM not rallied towards the final minute.
A multiple-time world champion in jiu-jitsu, Burns was renowned as the welterweight division’s best grappler for years. On top of that, Burns had dangerous KO power in his hands, which he used to take out legendary submission artist Demian Maia.
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Gilbert Burns detonated bomb on Demian Maia in passing-of-the-torch moment
Before there was Burns, there was Demian Maia, a 33-fight UFC veteran who fought Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley for the world title at two weight classes.
Despite his humble demeanor, Maia was one of the scariest contenders you could ever face. Maia submitted Chael Sonnen, Carlos Condit, Dong Hyun Kim and Ben Askren, the former world champion in the fight before Burns. Half of Maia’s 22 wins in the Octagon came by submission.
Even at 42, Maia took down Burns twice in a passing-of-the-torch fight at UFC Brasilia on March 14th, 2020 – the UFC’s first event held without a crowd after the COVID-19 lockdown.
Burns held his own on the ground, escaping Maia’s back control with a quick get-up.
Back on his feet, one shot was all it took to put Maia down as Burns connected with a mean left hook.
Burns raised his arms, thinking the fight would be stopped, but the referee didn’t wave it off, and Maia received follow-up ground and pound strikes for the second knockout loss of his 39-fight career.
With the victory, Burns earned his first main event against Tyron Woodley two months later, sparking the former champ en route to a title shot against Kamaru Usman.
Gilbert Burns faces scary knockout artist at UFC Vegas 106
33 at the time of his fight against Maia, Gilbert Burns is now nearing the end of his career at 38 years old.
The former title challenger is currently on the worst losing skid of his career, having been dominated by former champ Belal Muhammad and #1 contender Sean Brady and finished by Jack Della Maddalena.
Burns will look to return to winning ways against 17-0 contender Michael Morales this weekend in the five-round main event of UFC Vegas 106.
5-0 in the UFC, Morales is a knockout artist with 12 KO’s on his record. The 25-year-old is one of the brightest prospects the welterweight division has recently seen and attempts to break into the top 10 with a win over veteran Burns.
Burns has battled dangerous strikers before such as Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, Kamaru Usman and Khamzat Chimaev, dropping the latter two in high-stakes fights.