Gilbert Burns recently confessed that his decision to follow advice from multiple nutritionists was a costly error, one that ultimately contributed to his loss against Sean Brady.
"Durinho" stepped into the main event of UFC Vegas 97 last weekend, hoping to reignite one final push for the welterweight title. However, his plans were decisively derailed as Brady overwhelmed him over five punishing rounds with a relentless barrage of takedowns and grappling mastery, ultimately handing Burns a unanimous decision loss—his third consecutive defeat.
Burns was hopeful that a victory over Brady would put him back on the road to championship contention. Heading into fight week, he was confident in both his training and recovery, feeling physically prepared. Yet, he still wasn’t able to perform at his full potential when it mattered most.
The 38-year-old Brazilian was dismayed by his showing. However, in the aftermath of the loss, he has finally pieced together what went wrong in the lead-up to the bout…
Burns Attributes Bad Weight Cut On Confusion With Multiple Nutritionists
During a recent video on his YouTube channel, Burns opened up about his loss to Brady, revealing that his preparation was compromised by poor decision-making. "Durinho" admitted that leading up to the fight, he consulted several nutritionists and then complicated matters by blending their advice with his own approach.
This misstep led to a problematic weight cut, which ultimately reflected in the fight, as he felt lethargic and lacked his usual sharpness in movement.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I had a lot of energy; I felt great," Burns said. "But Thursday I had a hard weight cut at night, and Friday morning I had a very hard weight cut in the morning, and I think that was the result. That's why I think I felt very sluggish. I felt bad, but I do believe it was my recovery. Before I point fingers at everyone, I have my nutritionist, Marcelo Ferro, who does an amazing job. But my mistake was listening to two other nutritionists and the UFC a little bit.
So, another nutritionist that is a good friend of mine, Lucas, and coach Carl Gebhardt—I went to California to do all the tasks, and instead of doing the things that I do with Marcelo, I was kind of doing a little bit of coach Carl, a little bit of Marcelo, and a little bit of Lucas. So, at the end of the day, I didn’t follow through with anyone’s plan. I took a little bit from each one and kind of did my own plan. So when I made weight, I did great, but when I saw the recovery, I did a little bit from all three nutritionists, and it kind of didn’t work out.
Burns said in a backstage interview with the UFC that he's uncertain about the future of his career. His last victory came at UFC 287 in April 2023 against Jorge Masvidal. "Durinho" once rode the momentum of a six-fight win streak, but since his failed bid at the title against former champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 258 in February 2021, he has struggled to regain his footing with a consistent winning run.