Gilbert Burns Makes Retirement Admission Ahead Of UFC Return
It's often said that mixed martial arts is a young athlete's game, and UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns is starting to feel that.
www.mmanews.comGilbert Burns has announced his retirement from MMA after his loss at UFC Winnipeg, per multiple outlets reporting on the event in mid-April 2026. He laid his gloves in the cage and confirmed the decision in the post-fight context.[1][2][3]
Details you might find helpful:
- The retirement followed Burns’s KO loss to Mike Malott in the UFC Winnipeg main event, finishing a five-fight skid in the UFC.[2][1]
- Burns said he devoted so much to the sport and that this would be his final fight, signaling the end of his active fighting career at 39.[3][1]
- Reactions and coverage highlight a career defined by challenging top competition across welterweight and title contention periods.[5][3]
If you’d like, I can pull together a concise timeline of Burns’s career highlights and his post-fight statements from these reports, and summarize the key moments that led to this retirement decision.