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 13 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 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Sean Brady at UFC Fight Night: Burns vs. Brady on 7th September 2024 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at UFC Apex, Las Vegas, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 299 on 9th March 2024 by knockout in the 3rd round at Kaseya Center, Miami.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Belal Muhammad at UFC 288 on 6th May 2023 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Prudential Center, Newark.

Before that, 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.

He had beaten Neil Magny at UFC 283 on 21st January 2023 by submission in the 1st round at Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had defeated 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 was victorious 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 won against 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 beaten Adam Fugitt at UFC 277 on 30th July 2022 by knockout in the 3rd round at Madison Square Garden, New York City.

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

Activity check

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

Going to this contest, Gilbert Burns had last fought 8 months and 15 days ago, while Michael Morales' last outing had been 8 months and 28 days ago.

Burns' last 5 fights had come over a period of 2 years, 4 months and 1 day, meaning he had been fighting on average every 5 months and 19 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 17 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 3.4 rounds on average.

Morales' last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years and 4 months, meaning he had been fighting on average every 8 months. 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.