Quick Facts
Biography
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
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 20 matches | 12 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 4 |
| By submission | 8 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 3 |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 12–7 | James Wood | Decision (unanimous) | VFC 38: Roberts vs. Arocho | 000000002012-12-15-0000December 15, 2012 | 5 | 5:00 | Ralston, Nebraska, United States | For the VFC Welterweight Championship. |
| Win | 12–6 | Mark Stoddard | Submission (shoulder choke) | MCC 43: High Octane | 000000002012-10-12-0000October 12, 2012 | 1 | 2:52 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 11–6 | Mason Temiquel | Submission (rear-naked choke) | MCC 42: Lund vs. Schmauss | 000000002012-08-03-0000August 3, 2012 | 1 | 3:16 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Loss | 10–6 | Tom Speer | Decision (split) | Brutaal: Fight Night | 000000002012-05-11-0000May 11, 2012 | 3 | 5:00 | Tama, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 10–5 | Eddie Larrea | Submission (rear-naked choke) | MCC 37: Thanksgiving Throwdown | 000000002011-11-23-0000November 23, 2011 | 1 | 1:09 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Loss | 9–5 | Koffi Adzitso | KO (punches) | ZarMMA: Fight Night | 000000002010-11-12-0000November 12, 2010 | 1 | 1:54 | Layton, Utah, United States | |
| Win | 9–4 | Kalel Robinson | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | MCC 28: Impact | 000000002010-08-06-0000August 6, 2010 | 1 | 3:18 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 8–4 | Sean Huffman | Decision (unanimous) | MCC 25: Inferno | 000000002010-03-13-0000March 13, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Loss | 7–4 | TJ Grant | TKO (punches) | UFC 107 | 000000002009-12-12-0000December 12, 2009 | 1 | 4:57 | Memphis, Tennessee, United States | |
| Loss | 7–3 | Chris Lytle | Decision (unanimous) | The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale | 000000002009-06-20-0000June 20, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Loss | 7–2 | Anthony Johnson | KO (head kick) | The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale | 000000002008-12-13-0000December 13, 2008 | 3 | 0:28 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 7–1 | Anthony Johnson | TKO (eye poke) | UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin | 000000002008-07-19-0000July 19, 2008 | 3 | 3:45 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Johnson poked in the eye. Could not continue. |
| Win | 6–1 | Roan Carneiro | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC 85 | 000000002008-06-07-0000June 7, 2008 | 2 | 2:53 | London, England | Submission of the Night. |
| Win | 5–1 | Bobby Voelker | KO (punch) | VFC 23: Validation | 000000002008-05-09-0000May 9, 2008 | 1 | 0:30 | Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 4–1 | Steve Schneider | Submission (triangle choke) | GFC 2 | 000000002007-12-15-0000December 15, 2007 | 2 | 4:13 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Sean Westbrook | Submission (rear-naked choke) | GFC 1: Genesis | 000000002007-04-20-0000April 20, 2007 | 1 | 3:22 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Jason High | TKO (doctor stoppage) | VFC 18: Hitmen | 000000002007-02-16-0000February 16, 2007 | 2 | 5:00 | Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Matt Delanoit | Submission (armbar) | VFC 17: Predators | 000000002006-12-09-0000December 9, 2006 | 1 | 3:29 | Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Demi Deeds | TKO (punches) | Greensparks: Full Contact Fighting 1 | 000000002006-08-19-0000August 19, 2006 | 1 | 3:58 | Clive, Iowa, United States |