The UFC is heading back to Miami in April and yesterday we learned of a banger of a welterweight matchup that will be featured on the card. AG Fight was the first to report yesterday that former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns (22-8) will be taking on undefeated rising contender Michael Morales (17-0).
UFC 314 is expected to go down in Miami on April 12th although that’s not been confirmed by the promotion. Starting with the 25-year-old Morales, this is by far the biggest spot of his career. Morales will make the walk as of now ranked 12th in the division while holding that impressive 17-0 record.
He earned a contract on The Contender Series back in 2021 and he hasn’t looked back since. He’s gone a perfect 5-0 inside the octagon with steps up in competition along the way. In his last fight, he stopped Neil Magny in the first round. While that was a big step up for Morales, this next step up would take him into series contention.
UFC 314
A few years ago, it looked like Gilbert Burns was on his way to becoming a UFC champion. After moving up from lightweight, Burns won his first four fights at welterweight which included a knockout of Demian Maia and a one-sided beatdown against Tyron Woodley.
He then faced Kamaru Usman and even dropped Usman early in that fight. However, Usman would go on to finish Burns later in that fight. Burns would go 3-1 in his next four with the lone loss being to Khamzat Chimaev. That stretch led Burns to a five-round title eliminator against Belal Muhammad in May 2023.
Burns suffered an injury early in that fight and went on to lose a decision. He then faced Jack Della Maddalena and was on pace to win a decision until he was stopped in the final two minutes. The last time we saw him was in the main event of a UFC Fight Night against Sean Brady back in September. He lost that fight by decision handing him his third loss in a row. This next fight will tell us a lot about how much Durinho has left in the tank.