Burns vs Morales

Who won Burns vs Morales?

Michael Morales beat Gilbert Burns by knockout in the 1st round during the main event of UFC Fight Night, on Saturday 17th May 2025 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

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).

Burns vs Morales stats

Gilbert Burns stepped into the octagon with a record of 22 wins, 8 losses and 0 draws, 6 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 9 by submission.

Michael Morales made his way to the cage with an unblemished record of 17 wins, 0 losses, and 0 draws, 12 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Gilbert Burns' 24th fight in the UFC, having made his debut for the promotion in 2014. Michael Morales marked his 6th fight for them, having made his own debut for the promotion in 2022.

Gilbert Burns' UFC record stood at 15-9-0, while Michael Morales' came in at 6-0-0.

The stats suggested Morales had a massive power advantage over Burns, boasting a 71% knock out percentage over Burns' 27%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Burns had a massive advantage over Morales, boasting a 41% submission rate over Morales' 6%.

Gilbert Burns was the older man by 12 years, at 38 years old.

Morales had a height advantage of 2 inches over Burns. That also extended to a 8-inch reach advantage.

Burns was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 13 more fights, and made his debut in 2012, 5 years and 6 months earlier than Morales, whose first professional fight was in 2017. He had fought 38 more professional rounds, 70 to Morales' 32.

Burns vs Morales form

Gilbert Burns had beaten 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, 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.

Previous to that, he had lost to 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.

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

Before that, he had been beaten by 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.

He had defeated Tyron Woodley at UFC Vegas 1 on 30th May 2020 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC APEX, Las Vegas.

Morales remained undefeated as a professional, stopping 3 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he was victorious against Neil Magny at UFC Fight Night: Cannonier vs. Borralho on 24th August 2024 by knockout in the 1st round at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had won against Jake Matthews at UFC Fight Night – Allen vs Craig on 18th November 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Going into that contest, he had beaten Max Griffin at UFC Fight Night – Strickland vs. Magomedov on 1st July 2023 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas.

Before that, he had defeated Adam Fugitt at UFC 277 on 30th July 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

He was victorious against Trevin Giles at UFC 270 on 22nd January 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at Honda Center, Anaheim.

Activity check

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

Going to this contest, Gilbert Burns had last fought 2 years, 5 months and 13 days ago, while Michael Morales' last outing had been 10 months and 10 days ago.

Burns' last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 1 month and 4 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 7 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 15 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3 rounds on average.

Morales' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 5 months and 12 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months and 8 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

What time did Burns vs Morales start?

The fighters were expected to walk out at around 1:10 AM UTC , which was 9:10 PM EST or 6:10 PM PST on the West Coast of America, or 2:10 AM BST in the UK.

What were the odds on Burns vs Morales?

Gilbert Burns was a 3/1 (+300) underdog going into the contest, while Michael Morales made his way into the ring at 1/4 (-400) with oddsmakers.