Kevin Burns (fighter)

Kevin Bertrand Burns (born March 3, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has formerly competed for the UFC.

Background

Originally from Glidden, Iowa, Burns was a talented football player, competing at the collegiate level. Burns later began training in Tae Kwon Do at the age of 18, before transitioning into Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and then finally mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

With only ten months of training, Burns made his amateur MMA debut, defeating Josh Neer. Burns took a year off after the win but returned when Neer called him out for a rematch. Burns took his first loss in the bout.

Four years later, Burns won his professional debut against Demi Deeds. He won his next fight before losing to Jason High. The loss did not slow down Burns, as he racked up three more wins. With the wins he earned a four-fight deal with the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

At UFC 85 Burns made his debut for the UFC, earning the upset win over Roan Carneiro. He submitted Roan in the second round and was awarded Submission of the Night.

During his fight with Anthony Johnson in UFC: Silva vs. Irvin, he repeatedly poked Johnson in the eyes, for which he received four separate warnings by the referee, Steve Mazzagatti. In the third round, Johnson fell to the ground writhing in pain after an exchange with Burns, and Mazzagatti called the fight to protect Johnson, who was clearly unable to defend himself. Only after seeing the replay from a different camera angle was it seen that the reason for Johnson falling to the ground was due to one of Burns' open handed jabs landing deep into his eye. After some confusion, Steve Mazzagatti stopped the bout as a no contest. After the fight Johnson appealed the decision as being poked in the eye was a foul, but it was ultimately rejected due to lack of remedy. Burns has claimed that the eye-jabs were not intentional and due to a prior broken hand, which he states forced him to punch with a looser hand.

Johnson defeated Burns with a third-round knockout in their rematch at The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale.

Burns was defeated by Chris Lytle via unanimous decision in a back and forth war at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. The fight did prove to be positive as Burns was given an extra $25,000 for earning Fight of the Night.

Burns lost to TJ Grant via first round TKO at UFC 107. After losing three straight bouts, Burns was released from the UFC.

Mixed martial arts record