Fans won’t have to wait too long before seeing Gilbert Burns compete again.
Burns received praise from the likes of Khamzat Chimaev after making the decision to lay his gloves down inside the Octagon this past weekend.
The former title challenger competed 25 times under the UFC banner, where he was a staple of the welterweight rankings for a long time.
Burns may have had plans in mind for his next pursuit for some time, but that doesn’t mean he can’t continue to use his MMA skillset away from the cage.
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Gilbert Burns set to make grappling return in match against Piter Frank at Connect Heroes
A loss to Mike Malott led Gilbert Burns to retire after he admitted that he doesn’t want to continue fighting just to make up the numbers in the welterweight division.
As a former multiple-time IBJJF world champion, ‘Durinho’ came into MMA as a jiu-jitsu specialist, though he didn’t always use this skillset inside the Octagon.
Less than a week on from his UFC retirement, it was announced that Burns will be returning to his grappling roots on July 11.
The 39-year-old is booked to face Piter Frank at Connect Heroes in a jiu-jitsu match in Rio de Janeiro.
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His fellow Brazilian Frank has competed in events like BJJ Stars, ADXC and the UFC Fight Pass Invitational in recent years.
Before this matchup was announced for the first edition of Connect Heroes, the potential of seeing it happen was teased on social media, which Frank responded to by calling Burns an “idol”.
It appears from Connect Heroes’ announcement that the entire event will stream live on YouTube.
2026-04-24 23:30:00
