Kamaru “the Nigerian Nightmare” Usman took flak from some corners of MMA media this week for being a yawn inducing fighter. Prior to this fight and the Colby Covington fight, that reputation seemed well earned both due to Usman’s clinch heavy style and for his inability to engage fans or sell fights. But there is no denying the fact that the man had entered the cage twelve times and walked away with his hand raised each time. Tied with the incomparable George “Rush” St. Pierre for the longest win streak in UFC Welterweight history, Usman put his strap on the line against a familiar foe. Gilbert “Durinho” Burns has sparred 200 or more rounds against his former teammate Usman, according to coach Henry Hooft. Burns is a classic example of a UFC fighter that had flown under the radar, in spite his impressive skill set and accomplishments. Burns smashed Tyron Woodley in his last fight, but it’s fair to question the value of a victory over the Woodley of the last couple years. But Durinnho is not just another jiu-jitsu ace relying on a particular skillset. Burns brings the fight and has the firepower to put your lights out with his fists. Read on below for details of the fight.

Anthony Hernandez Impressive in Featured Preliminary Card Bout

Some quick thoughts on this featured preliminary fight. Rodolfo Vieira entered this fight as a heavy favorite with his impressive credentials as a four time BJJ world champion and seven time World Cup champion. But this fight is another reminder that MMA is unforgiving when a fighter cuts too much weight and suffers gassing out from carrying too much muscle and doesn’t get a finish after expending too much energy. Anthony Hernandez gamely fought off multiple submission attempts from the bottom and then went to work on smashing Vieira on the feet. The end came by guillotine choke at 1:53 in the second round as Hernandez submitted the BJJ ace.

Marquez Finishes Fight with Incredible Comeback Victory Via Anaconda Choke

A good fight kicked off the pay-per-view as Maki Pitolo fought a smart fight against Julian Marquez, controlling Marquez on the ground for large portions of each round. But it was Marquez with the big comeback victory as he produced the tap via Anaconda Choke with 0:43 left in the third round. Pitolo, normally down to bang on the feet, secured takedowns of the bigger Marquez in each round in an attempt to wear down his foe. Credit Marquez for following his corner’s orders and marching forward as he was clearly looking for finish in the third round. Marquez landed several damaging blows in the last round before Pitolo secured yet another takedown. Marquez threatened with several guillotine attempts throughout the fight. With about one minute left in the fight Marquez opened up with hooks and a hard right hand that had Pitolo in trouble. A big knee from the clinch forced the shot from Pitolo. Marquez initially threatened with the front headlock as he went for the guillotine but as Pitolo flipped to his back Marquez switched from a guillotine attempt and slickly transitioned to the anaconda choke producing the tap. Impressive performance for “the Cuban Missile Crisis” as Marquez had not fought since 2018 and weathered a slow start to the fight.

Gastelum Outclasses Heinisch

Two questionable early submission attempts had Ian Heinisch tired as he attacked Gastelum’s shoulder. The second attempt, a kimura, while mounted by Gastelum seemed particularly questionable as he was in no position to finish the submission from underneath mount. Heinisch was able to use his feet on the fence to roll out of mounted position and get back to his feet. In the second round, Gastelum landed a hard low kick early. Gastelum showed good takedown defense early in the round to deny Heinisch. After a bad missed flying knee, Gastelum took advantage by raising his much bigger foe high in the air as he completed a nice slam takedown. Heinisch, known to keep a high pace, clearly was exhausted as the second round came to a close. Gastelum was flowing in the third round, mixing his grappling with effective striking. Another dubious flying knee attempt by Heinisch turned into yet another slam takedown for Gastelum. Heinisch was game as usual in this fight, but was clearly outclassed by the elite skills of Gastelum.

Usman Impressive in Third Round TKO of Burns

Thirty seconds into the first round Durinho hammered Usman with a big right hand that doubled over the defending champion as Usman had to use both hands to avoid crashing to the mat. Burns shortly thereafter fell to his back after a throwing a head kick and spent a good part of the round on his back as Usman was wary of going to the ground with the decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion Burns. Usman scored late in the round with a hard leg kick and followed with a nice body kick. Burns scored with a nice combination late in the round. Burns also landed a hard knee in the opening frame that clearly went for the challenger.

Usman, with a significant reach advantage, opened the second round by doing nice work with his excellent jab. Off of a level change fake, Burns hammered Usman with a right hand that appeared to briefly stun Usman. After doing more good work with the jab, Usman cracked Burns with a right hand that this time had Burns having to use both hands to stay off the mat. Usman continued with nice work from the southpaw stance as he went to work on Burns. With a little more than a minute left in Round 2, Usman dropped Burns with a stiff jab. The fighters traded hard blows in the final minute as Burns appeared to have recovered a bit after being in big trouble.

Twenty seconds into the third round, a right jab from the southpaw stance sent Burns backward onto the canvas. Usman followed with a huge right hand from the feet as Burns covered up on his back. Herb Dean, who has been criticized for past decisions on when to stop a fight, once more appeared to not be sure what he was looking at as Burns was clearly done while Usman landed several more hard shots that were unnecessary as the fight should have been called 6-8 hard shots earlier. Impressive performance by Usman as this fight should go a long way toward quelling criticisms of him as a boring fighter.