Gilbert Burns "Durinho"

Gilbert Alexander Pontes Burns was born on July 20, 1986, in Niterói, in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, to a middle-class family. He began training jiu-jitsu at age 12 after his father arranged a few months of lessons in exchange for auto repair work for a customer who ran a local academy. He and his brothers, Herbert and Frederick, trained together under coach Luis Carlos da Fonseca before Gilbert continued his development at Welton Ribeiro's Academia Associação Oriente, an affiliate of the storied Nova União team in Rio de Janeiro. It was during this period, training at Nova União's headquarters, that he picked up the nickname 'Durinho,' roughly translating to 'little tough guy,' a name that stuck with him for the rest of his career.

Burns rose steadily through the black belt division, twice finishing as runner-up at the IBJJF World Championship as a brown belt (2006 and 2007) before earning his black belt from Rafael 'Fofitio' Barros in 2007. As a black belt he delivered on that early promise, winning the IBJJF World Championship gi title in 2011, most notably defeating Kron Gracie en route to gold, one of the signature results of his competitive career. He backed that up with IBJJF World No-Gi titles in 2010 and 2013, a CBJJ Brazilian Nationals title, an Abu Dhabi Combat Club Pro title, and an ADCC bronze medal in 2015, giving him one of the more complete competitive résumés among fighters who later moved into MMA.

Burns transitioned to professional mixed martial arts and signed with the UFC in 2014, initially competing at lightweight before moving up to welterweight, where he found his greatest MMA success. His grappling-heavy style translated directly into the cage: he strung together notable wins over the likes of Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley, Stephen Thompson, and Jorge Masvidal, building a reputation as one of the most live, dangerous names in the welterweight division. That run earned him a shot at Kamaru Usman's UFC Welterweight Championship in February 2021, a fight he lost via third-round TKO but which stood as the biggest showcase of his career, testing him against arguably the greatest welterweight of his era.

After that title challenge Burns remained a fixture in the UFC's top welterweight rankings for several more years, continuing to rely on his elite jiu-jitsu base to control fights on the mat even as opponents adjusted to avoid his takedowns. His UFC tenure came to an end in April 2026 following a knockout loss to Mike Malott in the main event of a UFC Fight Night card, after which the 39-year-old announced his retirement from the sport, closing out a UFC run that began in 2014. True to his roots, Burns did not step away from competition entirely: within days of his UFC retirement he announced a return to his grappling origins, agreeing to a submission grappling superfight against fellow Brazilian Piter Frank at the Connect Heroes event in Rio de Janeiro in July 2026. Burns's career is emblematic of the modern BJJ-to-MMA pipeline: a decorated IBJJF and ADCC competitor who used elite grappling credentials to become one of the most successful and durable Brazilian fighters of his UFC generation, and who has continued to represent the sport that shaped him even after hanging up his MMA gloves.

High-output, pressure-based grappler-striker whose BJJ pedigree underpins a relentless top game and constant forward pressure in MMA