Gilbert Burns showed why he is such a respected grappler at UFC Fort Lauderdale, dominating the debuting Mike Davis on the ground en route to a submission victory.
Gilbert Burns is one of the finest jiu-jitsu practitioners in MMA, with several gold medals on the world stage to his name. He was 7-0 with all finishes when he made his UFC debut in 2014. “Durinho” won his first three fights in the Octagon, two of which were Performance of the Night-worthy submissions. Since then, he is 4-3 with two knockouts and a submission. The Brazilian is coming off a victory over talented Canadian Olivier Aubin-Mercier.
Mike Davis will be making his promotional debut at UFC Fort Lauderdale on short-notice after Eric Wisely was removed from the card. “Beast Boy” is currently 7-1 with the one loss coming on the Contender Series against the talented Sodiq Yusuff. All of his wins have come via stoppage with his latest victory last month being the first submission in his career.
Mike Davis started the fight with a one-one-two combination to back Burns up to the fence. Burns shot for a takedown but Davis defended well. A body kick and right hook landed for Burns then he dove in on a deep double-leg takedown and threw Davis to the mat. Burns was able to take the back of Davis when he landed and the jiu-jitsu expert got to work. Burns transitioned to a half guard as Davis worked his way up and landed solid ground-and-pound. Davis landed a solid combination but Burns answered with a right hand that stunned Davis. Burns landed another slick right hand and Davis answered with a blitzing combination. Burns fired back and the two fighters were throwing down. With 30 seconds to go, Burns landed his second takedown of the round and landed several hammerfists from the knee-on-belly position to end the round.
Cageside Press Scored the First Round 10-9 Gilbert Burns
Less than 15 seconds into the round, Burns initiated a clinch and dragged Davis to the canvas. Burns took his back quickly and established a body triangle while landing brutal ground-and-pound. Burns pulled Davis away from the cage and tried to establish hooks, but could not quite do it. Burns got back to top position and not soon after was on Davis’ back again with a body triangle. Burns was fighting hard for the rear-naked choke and Davis was desperately trying to unhook the body triangle. Several attempts later and Burns finally got it under the chin. With a palm-to-palm grip, Burns got Davis to tap for his second straight win.
Early day at the office for @GilbertDurinho!#UFCFtLauderdale prelims live on @ESPN pic.twitter.com/Y7ZcjNUfhn
— UFC (@ufc) April 27, 2019
Gilbert Burns def. Mike Davis by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in Round 2 (4:15)
