Gilbert Burns dominates Tyron Woodley to assert himself as a UFC welterweight contender
Fresh off a win over compatriot and fellow Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Demian Maia, Brazil’s Gilbert Burns ran through former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley throughout the entirety of their five-round fight.
Headlining the card broadcast on ESPN, Burns made it clear to see he is a true welterweight contender inside the UFC’s Apex facility.
Burns hurt Woodley early in the first round, knocking him down before unloading a flurry of punches to his grounded foe.
“Durinho” then took full mount to deliver further punishment, though Woodley did well to survive. Burns did, however, manage to badly damage Woodley with elbows while on top, cutting him.
That explosive exchange foreshadowed what was ahead for Woodley.
Burns put on a pace Woodley simply couldn’t match. The Brazilian was constantly on the move and was never there when Woodley loaded up on his renowned powerful right hand.
And when he wasn’t readying for his overhand, Woodley was met by a range of strikes from his opponent.
Woodley was knocked down again in the fourth round, while Burns also landed two powerful takedowns – something opponents seldom achieve nor attempt against a talented wrestler like Woodley.
It was an all-round dominant performance from Burns, who has further complicated a muddy UFC welterweight title picture which has a string of contenders chomping at the bit to take on champion Kamaru Usman.
Burns, who is a teammate of Usman’s, is more than willing to put those allegiances aside for the chance of lifting UFC gold.
Augusto Sakai gets split decision nod over Blagoy Ivanov
Augusto Sakai remains an undefeated heavyweight in the UFC after his split decision over Blagoy Ivanov on Saturday night.
Ivanov started quickly, but he failed to maintain that output as Sakai picked away at him with his jab and kicks from distance to the body and legs.
Sakai remained elusive for much of the fight and rarely looked troubled.
However, the Bulgarian did look set to land a big takedown in the third round which could have swayed the cageside judges in his favour, but Sakai grabbed the fence to prevent it. Alas, the foul wasn’t caught by referee Jason Herzog.
One judge called it 30-27 for Ivanov, while the two other scored it 29-28 in favour of Sakai.
This brings Sakai’s UFC record to 4-0 adding to his wins over Chase Sherman, Andrei Arlovski and Marcin Tybura.
UFC Fight Night: Tyron Woodley vs. Gilbert Burns full results
Welterweight: Gilbert Burns def. Tyron Woodley by unanimous decision after five rounds
Heavyweight: Augusto Sakai def. Blagoy Ivanov by split decision after three rounds
Catchweight (150 lbs): Billy Quarantillo def. Spike Carlyle by unanimous decision after three rounds
Catchweight (157.5 lbs): Roosevelt Roberts def. Brok Weaver by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:26 of round two
Women’s Strawweight: Mackenzie Dern def. Hannah Cifers by submission (kneebar) at 2:36 of round one
Women’s Flyweight: Katlyn Chookagian def. Antonina Shevchenko by unanimous decision after three rounds
Welterweight: Daniel Rodriguez def. Gabriel Green by unanimous decision after three rounds
Light Heavyweight: Jamahal Hill def. Klidson Abreu by TKO (knee to the body and punches) at 1:51 of round one
Flyweight: Brandon Royval def. Tim Elliott by submission (arm triangle choke) at 3:18 of round two
Bantamweight: Casey Kenney def. Louis Smolka by submission (guillotine choke) at 3:03 of round one
Featherweight: Chris Gutiérrez def. Vince Morales by TKO (leg kicks) at 4:27 of round two