Gilbert Burns is looking to get back to his old ways tomorrow evening (Sat., May 17, 2025) at UFC Vegas 106 LIVE on ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, when the former UFC welterweight title challenger meets undefeated contender Michael Morales in the main event.
It’s no secret that Burns has been up and down over the past few years. He’s currently riding a three-fight losing streak dating back to May 2023, but before that “Durinho” captured key victories over Jorge Masvidal and Neil Magny. Burns’ recent losses have come against top welterweight competition so he’s hoping an impressive outing this weekend against Morales can land him back in contention heading into the second half of 2025.
Luckily for Burns, he believes he has figured out the root of his recent misfortune inside of the cage. The welterweight veteran points back to his incredible performance against the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273 back in April 2022. Burns lost that fight via unanimous decision, but he pushed “Borz” to the brink of defeat and gained an incredible following in the process. The increased notoriety and fame ultimately clouded Burns’ championship aspirations, but he’s hoping to get back to his old ways this weekend in “Sin City.”
“I got a lot of fans, got a lot of recognition, which is not a bad thing,” Burns said in an interview with ”Home of Fight.” ”It was good. (I got) a lot of opportunities, a couple of sponsors, the fans recognized me everywhere, and it built up my platform to a different level. Then you kind of get caught up with it a little bit – making money, traveling, getting recognition.
“That kind of took me slowly away from my path, from that ‘Durinho’ that trains hard, that wants to become a champion. It was not a bad thing to have that financial growth, but it kind of took me a little bit out of my path. Slowly, after those couple of losses, it was actually very good for me to reflect on that, see what I changed, and start correcting that a little bit, putting my priorities first.”
Burns, who turns 39 this July, has already made it known that his days inside of the Octagon are numbered. If “Durinho” suffers his fourth-straight loss this weekend and drops out of the welterweight top 10 he could decide to walk away for good. But if the former UFC title challenger can hand Morales his first pro loss it will extend his UFC stay even longer.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Vegas 106 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. ET.
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This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
