Gilbert Burns had a clear three-fight plan mapped out heading into his UFC Winnipeg bout against Mike Malott, and it vanished the moment Malott knocked him out.
Speaking with MMA Fighting, Burns revealed the roadmap he had envisioned if he had won in Winnipeg. The plan started with a callout of Colby Covington at International Fight Week, followed by a final retirement fight in Brazil against Daniel Rodriguez, Kevin Holland, or Leon Edwards.
“If I was winning, I was going to call out Colby for International Fight Week. I had a whole plan,” Burns said. “With a win, if I go out there and I beat this guy and I do a big callout for International Fight Week, then it makes sense. Then I think the UFC would give the Colby fight to me.”
But Burns had also made a private decision about what a loss would mean, and he honored it immediately.
“In the back of my head I was thinking if I can’t beat Mike Malott, if I lose, if I got finished, I’m done.”
The retirement decision carries a particular weight given the nature of his recent losses. Burns had previously fallen to current champions Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena, plus top contenders Sean Brady and Michael Morales. Losing to Malott, who has not yet reached those heights, was the line Burns had drawn for himself.
He enters retirement with a career record of 22-10 and 15-10 in the UFC, including a world title challenge against Kamaru Usman. Burns has already announced plans to transition to fighter management.