Gilbert Burns was born on July 20, 1986, in Brazil, into a family that would become deeply intertwined with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He first stepped onto the mats at the age of 12, training alongside his brothers Herbert and Frederick in an environment where the sport was a shared pursuit rather than a casual hobby. That fraternal bond provided both motivation and a built-in training partnership that shaped his competitive instincts from the outset.

His foundational instruction came under Luis Carlos da Fonseca, who introduced Burns to the technical principles that would define his game. He later trained under Ramon Lemos, whose influence helped refine his approach as he progressed through the colored belt ranks. The combination of a supportive family environment and a succession of knowledgeable instructors accelerated his development considerably — by the time Burns reached brown belt, he was already competing on the international stage and announcing himself as a serious prospect within the sport.

Gilbert Burns received his black belt in 2007 from Rafael Formiga, known within the community as "Fofitio" — a promotion that formalized what his brown belt results had already suggested. His brown belt career had been distinguished by back-to-back silver medal finishes at the IBJJF World Championship in 2006 and 2007, as well as a silver medal at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2007, demonstrating his capacity to compete at the highest level before ever earning his black belt.

The transition into the black belt division brought new challenges, but Burns adapted quickly. In 2009, he earned a silver medal at the IBJJF World Championship — his first major black belt result on the international stage — confirming that his earlier success was no aberration. Bronze medals at the IBJJF European Open in both 2009 and 2010 added further consistency to his record. Competing as a member of Atos, Burns built his identity within the gi competition circuit as a technically sound, physically dynamic lightweight capable of defeating anyone on a given day.

The period between 2010 and 2011 represents the apex of Gilbert Burns's sport jiu-jitsu career — a concentrated run of elite results across multiple formats and organizations that confirmed his status as one of the best grapplers in the world at his weight. In 2010, he claimed gold at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championship in the leve division (75kg/167lbs), demonstrating that his excellence extended beyond the traditional gi format. That same year, he captured gold at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro, a prestigious international event drawing top competitors from across the globe, and added the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals title to validate his dominance on the domestic front.

The crowning achievement of this era came in 2011, when Burns won the IBJJF World Championship gi title — the most recognized credential in sport jiu-jitsu. That victory represented the culmination of years of development under Fofitio and alongside teammates at Atos, and it provided Burns with a definitive platform from which to launch the next phase of his athletic career in mixed martial arts.

Years after his gi World Championship and his pivot toward MMA, Burns returned to elite grappling competition at the 2015 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in the 77kg division — the most prestigious no-gi grappling tournament in the world. He navigated a demanding bracket before falling to Davi Ramos in the semifinals, then rebounded in the third-place match with a commanding 6-0 shutout over Otávio Sousa to claim the bronze medal.

The result carried weight beyond the medal itself. Burns was an active professional MMA competitor at the time, yet he could still compete with and defeat world-class no-gi specialists operating at the height of their grappling focus. It underscored both his longevity as a competitor and his ability to adapt across rulesets — from IBJJF gi competition to submission wrestling under ADCC rules — without losing the technical sharpness that had defined his earlier career.

Polaris 4 and Submission Underground

Beyond his formal tournament record, Burns accumulated a series of high-profile grappling matches that illustrated both his ambition and his willingness to accept difficult challenges outside the security of a favorable bracket. In 2016, he faced Garry Tonon at Polaris 4 in one of the most anticipated matchups on that card. Tonon, a specialist renowned for his leg lock system and explosive offensive game, submitted Burns with an inside heel hook — one of the rare submission losses on Burns's record and a result that highlighted the existential threat elite leg lock competitors pose even to the most accomplished traditional grapplers.

Burns responded to that setback by competing at Submission Underground 4 in 2017, where he defeated John Combs via overtime decision — a hard-fought performance that demonstrated his resilience and capacity to execute under pressure in submission-only formats.

The Nate Diaz Challenge and the Lovato Win

In late 2020, Burns issued a challenge to Nate Diaz for a $400,000 winner-takes-all grappling match under Chael Sonnen's SUG promotion, a gesture that spoke to his confidence in his jiu-jitsu relative to MMA peers and his desire to remain active and visible in the grappling community while competing in the UFC.

The most significant standalone grappling result of Burns's later career came on April 30, 2021, when he defeated Rafael Lovato Jr. by unanimous decision at Who's Number One (WNO) in a no-gi contest widely regarded as an upset. Lovato — a multiple-time IBJJF World Champion and one of the most decorated American grapplers of his generation — carried a formidable pedigree into the match. Burns's clear decision victory demonstrated that his grappling had not stagnated during his MMA career but had continued to evolve at the elite level.

Gilbert Burns transitioned into mixed martial arts following his 2011 IBJJF World Championship, leveraging his elite grappling as the foundation of his professional fighting career. An early milestone in that trajectory was his participation in The Ultimate Fighter Brazil, which provided broader exposure and accelerated his development within a professional competitive environment. His credibility in high-level MMA circles was further evidenced by his role coaching veteran fighter Vitor Belfort — a responsibility that placed him in elite training environments early in his career.

Burns established himself at Sanford MMA — operating under the Kill Cliff FC banner — in Florida, where he built his MMA training base and developed into a ranked UFC welterweight. His career in the UFC traced a trajectory that included a remarkable title contention run before ultimately reinforcing his status as one of the division's most dangerous grapplers. On March 9, 2024, Burns competed at UFC 299 against Jack Della Maddalena following a return from injury, reflecting his continued commitment to performing at the highest level of the sport.

The arc of Burns's MMA career stands apart precisely because of its foundation — a legitimate IBJJF World Championship in the gi and ADCC-level no-gi credentials that few UFC competitors can claim. His grappling has remained a constant and credible threat throughout his time in the octagon.

Alongside his competitive career in both grappling and MMA, Burns has invested significantly in the development of others through coaching and instruction. Based in Florida as a lead BJJ instructor within the Sanford MMA and Kill Cliff FC setup, he works with professional fighters preparing for high-level competition while simultaneously making his knowledge accessible to a broader audience through the Burns BJJ program, which serves both hobbyist practitioners and fighters at various stages of their development.

The coaching philosophy Burns brings to instruction is informed by an unusually wide range of competitive experience — gi World Championship competition under IBJJF rules, ADCC-level no-gi submission wrestling, high-profile matches under SUG and WNO formats, and years of UFC competition. Few instructors can draw on that breadth of lived competitive context when teaching, and it positions Burns as a practitioner capable of communicating the principles of jiu-jitsu across rulesets and experience levels with rare authority.

In maintaining an active teaching role while competing at the UFC level, Burns represents a model of the contemporary BJJ practitioner — one who treats competition and instruction not as separate phases of a career but as complementary pursuits, with the long-term goal of developing the next generation of grapplers.