Gilbert Burns spoiled the homecoming for Jorge Masvidal in Miami.
After an intense 15 minutes of action in the UFC 287 co-main event at Kaseya Center in Miami, Burns (22-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) found his hands raised opposite Jorge Masvidal, who decided to hang up the gloves after the result.
With scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28, Burns won a unanimous decision over Masvidal (35-17 MMA, 12-10 UFC), and is now looking for his shot at the welterweight title.
Chants of “305” echoed throughout the arena as the fighters began feeling each other out in the opening moments. A few moments later, the crowd switched to a “Let’s go Jorge” chant as the initial exchanges occurred.
The first half of the round was a patient approach, with both fighters offering no more than two-strikes at a time. A nice combination with a leg kick landed for Masvidal, much to the crowd’s delight. Burns then turned up the heat with a combo of his own, looking for a clinch at the end.
In the final minute, the action ramped up. Masvidal landed a sharp combination, but Burns cracked with a right hand a moment later. In the closing seconds, Burns completed a takedown and ended the round raining down hammerfists.
Picking up right where he left off, Burns came out firing in the second, dropping Masvidal with a clean punch. Masvidal popped right back up and waved Burns in, who obliged with a big takedown. With over 4 minutes to work, Burns was on top in the center of the cage. Masvidal kept Burns wrapped up well, and eventually worked his way back to a standing clinch against the cage. With 30 seconds to go, they returned to the center and let a few strikes go before returning to their corners.
Chants for Masvidal resumed at the start of the final round as he opened with a few hard leg kicks. A spinning back kick to the body landed for Masvidal, which prompted Burns to turn up his offense. A hard right hand wobbled Masvidal, but Burns was unable to land the finishing shot in the moment. Masvidal answered with some crisp punches, but Burns landed another crushing combination to send Masvidal into the fence. Once again, Masvidal answered nicely, and Burns switched things up with a takedown.
A few ground and pound strikes got through, but the fight would go to the scorecards, where all three judges scored the fight in Burns’ favor.
Gilbert gets the W!!@GilbertDurinho takes the unanimous decision over Jorge Masvidal in our #UFC287 co-main pic.twitter.com/hd0oG6GMwE
— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2023
“Leon Edwards, Colby Covington, whoever is holding that belt, I’m coming for you!” Burns said during his post-fight interview.
Gilbert Burns did the griddy after the big win 😂 #UFC287 pic.twitter.com/GtoeQmOmqG
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 9, 2023
On the other side, Masvidal decided to call it a career after 52 professional fights.
“This is where I started my career, and now it’s been a long 20 years,” Masvidal said during his post-fight interview. “Fifty-something fights. Sometimes your favorite basketball ain’t got that three-pointer no more. Your favorite quarterback loses that rife. I don’t feel the same when I get in here no more. … I love all of you.”
Entering on the heels of a first-round stoppage of Neil Magny in January, Burns makes it back-to-back victories, and said he won’t fight again unless it’s for the welterweight title.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 287 results include:
- Gilbert Burns def. Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Rob Font def. Adrian Yanez via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:57
- Kevin Holland def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via knockout (punches) – Round 3, 3:16
- Christian Rodriguez def. Raul Rosas Jr. via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Kelvin Gastelum def. Chris Curtis via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Luana Pinheiro def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Joe Pyfer def. Gerald Meerschaert via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:15
- Loopy Godinez def. Cynthia Calvillo via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
- Ignacio Bahamondes def. Trey Ogden via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Steve Garcia def. Shayilan Nuerdanbieke via knockout (body kick, punches) – Round 2, 0:36
- Sam Hughes def. Jaqueline Amorim via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 287.
