Muhammad vs Burns

Who won Muhammad vs Burns?

Belal Muhammad beat Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest during the co-main event of UFC 288, on Saturday 6th May 2023 at Prudential Center in Newark.

The scorecards were announced as in favor of winner Belal Muhammad.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 5 rounds in the Welterweight division, which meant the weight limit was 170 pounds (12.1 stone or 77.1 KG).

Muhammad vs Burns stats

Belal Muhammad stepped into the octagon with a record of 22 wins, 3 loses and 0 draws, 5 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 1 by submission.

Gilbert Burns made his way to the cage with a record of 22 wins, 5 loses and 0 draws, with 6 of those wins by knock out and 9 by submission.

The stats suggested Burns had a slight advantage in power over Muhammad, with a 27% knock out percentage over Muhammad's 23%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Burns had a massive advantage over Muhammad, boosting at 41% submission rate over Muhammad's 5%.

Belal Muhammad was the younger man by 2 years, at 35 years old.

Muhammad had a height advantage of 1 inch over Burns. Despite this, both fighters had equal reach.

Muhammad's experience as a professional fighter was relatively equal to Burns', having had 2 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2012, 6 months later than Burns, whose first professional fight was in 2012. He had fought 18 more professional rounds, 79 to Burns' 61.

Muhammad vs Burns form

Belal Muhammad had beaten 4 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had won against Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night on 18th December 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest.

Previous to that, he had won against Demian Maia at UFC 263 on 12th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Gila River Arena, Glendale, United States.

Going into that contest, he had won against Leon Edwards at UFC Vegas 21 on 13th March 2021 by unanimous decision in the 2nd round at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had beat Lyman Good at UFC Vegas 3 on 20th June 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

He had defeated Tim Means at UFC Fight Night 121 on 18th November 2017 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia.

Gilbert Burns had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287 on 8th April 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Miami-Dade Arena, Miami, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Neil Magny at UFC 283 on 21st January 2023 by submission in the 1st round at Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Going into that contest, he had been beaten by Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273 on 9th April 2022 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, United States.

Before that, he had defeated Stephen Thompson at UFC 264 on 10th July 2021 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

He had lost to Kamaru Usman at UFC 258 on 13th February 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round in their UFC Welterweight championship fight at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Gilbert Burns had been fighting more than Belal Muhammad.

Going to this contest, Belal Muhammad had last fought 1 year, 9 months and 4 days ago, while Gilbert Burns' last outing had been 5 months and 14 days ago.

Muhammad's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 10 months and 4 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year, 2 months and 2 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 14 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.8 rounds on average.

Burns' last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 7 months and 9 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 6 months and 9 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Muhammad vs Burns?

Belal Muhammad was a 5/4 (+130) underdog going into the contest, while Gilbert Burns made his way into the ring at 67/100 (-150) with oddsmakers.