Fighting Championship title challenger Gilbert
Burns still has plenty to offer at his age.
Less than two months after announcing his retirement from the
Octagon at age 39, on the heels of his fifth consecutive loss—a
knockout to Mike
Malott—“Durinho” Burns made a stylish comeback at UFC BJJ 9 on
Thursday. The elder statesman grappler tapped out Brazilian
Horlando
Monteiro in just 1:22 seconds with a slick rear-naked
choke.
Burns started the fight being taken down by his opponent, but
seemed to welcome that as he had a plan. “Durinho” quickly reversed
the position and took Monteiro’s back, where he secured the choke
that ended the fight. It marked his first victory on the grappling
mats since he beat Rafael
Lovato Jr. in a special match in 2021.
There are a lot of good jiu-jitsu fighters who would love to
compete
Elated in victory, Burns was able to take off some of the pressure
on his shoulders coming from five straight defeats in a cage. He
did not go so far as to say he wanted to return to the confines of
MMA, but clearly indicated he enjoyed this experience and wishes to
return sooner than later.
“I’m so happy,” Burns gushed after getting his hand raised. “Oh my
god! It’s been a while since I’ve had a win, so it’s so good to be
here, putting my jiu-jitsu to the test.”
“Durinho” continued, “I’m ready to fight for the belt or have some
great super fights for you guys. Anthony
Pettis, Nate Diaz,
Demian
Maia, Kron
Gracie, Benson
Henderson, Rafael dos
Anjos, Michael
Chiesa, Colby
Covington, Dustin
Poirier. There are a lot of good jiu-jitsu fighters who would
love to compete. Let’s put on a show!”
A UFC fighter spanning from 2014 to 2026, Burns made his way there
by becoming a world jiu-jitsu champion in 2011 after outpointing
the aforementioned Gracie in 2011. Initially starting his tenure as
a welterweight, he quickly returned to lightweight and had mixed
success. It all came to a head in 2021 when as a surging
welterweight on a six-fight win streak, Burns vied for the
170-pound throne. While he had his moments against champ Kamaru
Usman, even dropping him early, Usman rallied to put him away
early in the third frame.
Following that, Burns defeated Stephen
Thompson and had the most emblematic fight of his career,
where, even though he was defeated by Khamzat
Chimaev, he delivered what many called the toughest fight of
the then-undefeated Chechen’s career. After coming up short to
Chimaev, “Durinho” defeated Neil Magny
and Jorge
Masvidal, but soon entered a series of five consecutive losses,
culminating in his retirement from this particular sport.