Gilbert Burns officially retired from MMA competition. Mike Malott is expected to enter the top-15 rankings, though the analyst doubts his potential against the new generation of top welterweights. The Guskov-Blachowicz fight was canceled but replaced with Ibo Baraniewicz facing another Polish opponent. Arman Tsarukyan defeated Faber 13-1 and called out Colby Covington after the match, promising to aim for a 10-0 score against him and stating he gave one point to Faber out of respect for his age. Tsarukyan declared he would make people forget about Covington as a fighter and as a wrestler.
Three notable storylines emerged from the welterweight and light heavyweight landscape on April 19, 2026, headlined by Gilbert Burns officially calling time on his MMA career.
Burns, 39, finishes with a professional record of 22 wins and 10 losses competing out of Kill Cliff FC. The Brazilian welterweight, ranked 13th in the division at the time of his retirement, was one of the more complete fighters in the 170-pound bracket, averaging 3.15 significant strikes per minute at 48 percent accuracy while also threatening consistently on the mat with 2.12 takedowns per 15 minutes across his career.
Mike Malott is projected to enter the welterweight top 15 following recent activity, though analysts have raised doubts about how he would fare against the emerging upper tier of the division.
On the light heavyweight side, a scheduled bout between Guskov and Jan Blachowicz was scrapped, though a replacement contest has been announced featuring Ibo Baraniewicz against a fellow Polish opponent.
Why it matters
- Burns retiring opens a top-15 spot in a welterweight division already in flux
- Malott's expected ranking entry adds a new name to watch at 170 pounds
- Tsarukyan's callout of Covington sets up a potentially significant matchup at lightweight or welterweight
The biggest headline, however, belongs to Arman Tsarukyan, who defeated 47-year-old Urijah Faber — the 35-11 veteran known as The California Kid — by a lopsided score of 13 to 1 on the judges' cards. After the fight, Tsarukyan called out Colby Covington, holder of a 17-5 record and a man known for his wrestling volume of 3.64 takedowns per 15 minutes. Tsarukyan stated he awarded Faber the single point purely out of respect for his age, and promised to score a perfect 10 against Covington. He also declared his intention to erase Covington's reputation both as a fighter and as a wrestler.
