| Kevin Burns | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 3, 1980 Carroll, Iowa, United States |
| Other names | The Fire |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) |
| Division | Welterweight |
| Reach | 74 in (190 cm) |
| Style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo |
| Fighting out of | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Team | Grudge Training Center |
| Rank | purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt in Taekwondo |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 15 |
| Wins | 10 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 6 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By decision | 1 |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Kevin Burns (born March 3, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist in the welterweight division. He is most known for his 2-3 stint in the UFC. Burns is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Carlos Henrique "Caique" Elias.[1]
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Kevin got his start into martial arts after joining a taekwondo gym with his sister. With only ten months of training, Kevin 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.
When he stumbled upon a local Brazilian jujitsu gym's website after the loss, he dropped his taekwondo class and signed up for a year at the BJJ gym. The secretary at the gym thought he was joking after hearing Burn's tell her his plan of training. He planned on coming in three times a day, six days a week but not even the gym's owner was there that much. To the surprise of everyone at the gym, Burns followed through with what he planned.
Four years later, Burns won his professional debut against Demi Deeds. He won his next fight before losing to Dream vet, 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.
At UFC 85 Burns made his debut for the UFC, earning the upset win over black belt, 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.[2] After some confusion, Steve Mazzagatti awarded the bout as a TKO for Burns. 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.[3] 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 in a back and forth war at the 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 TKO at UFC 107. At the conclusion of UFC 107, Burns was released from the UFC.
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 15 matches | 10 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 4 |
| By submission | 6 | 0 |
| By decision | 1 | 1 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 10-5 | Eddie Larrea | Submission (rear-naked choke) M | CC 37 - Thanksgiving Throwdown | November 23, 2011 | 1 | 1:09 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Loss | 9-5 | Koffi Adzitso | KO (punches) | ZarMMA - Fight Night | November 12, 2010 | 1 | 1:54 | Layton, Utah, United States | |
| Win | 9-4 | Kalel Robinson | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Midwest Cage Championships 28: Impact | August 6, 2010 | 1 | 3:18 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 8-4 | Sean Huffman | Decision (unanimous) | Midwest Cage Championships 25: Inferno | March 13, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Loss | 7-4 | TJ Grant | TKO (punches) | UFC 107 | December 12, 2009 | 1 | 4:57 | Memphis, Tennessee, United States | |
| Loss | 7-3 | Chris Lytle | Decision (unanimous) | TUF 9 Finale | June 20, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Fight of the Night |
| Loss | 7-2 | Anthony Johnson | KO (head kick) | TUF 8 | December 13, 2008 | 3 | 0:28 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 7-1 | Anthony Johnson | TKO (eye poke) | UFC: Silva vs. Irvin | July 19, 2008 | 3 | 3:45 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6-1 | Roan Carneiro | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC 85 | June 7, 2008 | 2 | 2:53 | London, England | Submission of the Night |
| Win | 5-1 | Bobby Voelker | KO | VFC 23: Validation | May 9, 2008 | 1 | 4:24 | Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 4-1 | Steve Schneider | Submission (triangle choke) | Glory Fighting Championships | December 15, 2007 | 2 | 4:13 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 3-1 | Sean Westbrook | Submission (rear naked choke) | GFC 1: Genesis | April 20, 2007 | 1 | 3:22 | Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |
| Loss | 2-1 | Jason High | TKO (doctor stoppage) | VFC 18: Hitmen | February 16, 2007 | 2 | 5:00 | Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 2-0 | Matt Delanoit | Submission (armbar) | VFC 17: Predators | December 9, 2006 | 1 | 3:29 | Council Bluffs, Iowa, United States | |
| Win | 1-0 | Demi Deeds | TKO | Greensparks: Full Contact Fighting 1 | August 19, 2006 | 1 | 3:58 | Clive, Iowa, United States |