Gilbert Burns has ended his fighting career, according to this post-event summary. The Guskov vs Blachowicz fight has been canceled but replaced with another Polish fighter, Ibo Baraniewski, prompting a joke that judges won't be needed. Mike Malott is predicted to enter the top 15 but the author doubts his potential against top welterweights of the new generation. The post also mentions Arman Tsarukyan defeated Urijah Faber 13-1 at RAF and afterward called out Colby Covington, promising a 10-0 victory. Additionally, Khamzat Chimaev signed with RAF, and Bo Nickal immediately challenged him.
Gilbert Burns has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts, ending a professional career that saw the Brazilian welterweight compile a 22-10 record over more than a decade of high-level competition.
Burns, 39, represented Brazil and trained out of Kill Cliff FC. Fighting out of an orthodox stance at five-foot-ten with a 71-inch reach, he was ranked 13th in the welterweight division at the time of his retirement. Over his career he averaged 3.15 significant strikes landed per minute at 48 percent accuracy, while also posing a consistent grappling threat with 2.12 takedowns per 15 minutes.
Elsewhere in the light heavyweight division, the scheduled bout between Guskov and Jan Blachowicz has been called off. Polish fighter Ibo Baraniewski has stepped in as a replacement, with commentary surrounding the matchup apparently light enough that someone joked the judges might not be necessary.
In other news, Khamzat Chimaev has signed with RAF, a development that drew an immediate response from middleweight prospect Bo Nickal, who called out the Borz without hesitation. Chimaev, 32, holds a 15-1 record and is ranked first in the middleweight division and tenth pound-for-pound. Fighting out of Allstars Training Center, the UAE-based fighter averages 4.04 significant strikes per minute at 60 percent accuracy and a remarkable 5.29 takedowns per 15 minutes. Nickal, 30, trains out of American Top Team Happy Valley and carries a 9-1 record of his own, averaging 3.1 takedowns and 2.5 submission attempts per 15 minutes with a striking accuracy of 61 percent.
Why it matters
- Burns' retirement closes the book on a welterweight career that reached title contention and reshapes the division's veteran landscape
- Chimaev's move to RAF and Nickal's immediate callout sets up a potential marquee middleweight clash between two of the division's most aggressive wrestlers
- The Blachowicz fight replacement keeps the light heavyweight card intact but shifts the competitive dynamic for that bout
