Gilbert Burns makes no excuses for UFC 299 knockout loss: 'Made a bad decision and paid for it'

Gilbert Burns was 77 seconds away from victory at UFC 299 before a tactical error led to him being knocked out by Jack Della Maddalena.

After a 10-month layoff that included shoulder surgery, Burns (22-7 MMA, 15-7 UFC) got back in the octagon this past weekend in Miami for a welterweight bout with Della Maddalena (18-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC). He won the first two rounds on two of three judges’ scorecards and was doing well in the third until the fight changed on a dime.

Della Maddalena brilliantly timed a counter knee that landed clean on Burns, badly hurting the Brazilian and setting up a sequence of ground-and-pound that led to the comeback finish at the 3:37 mark of Round 3. It was a tough pill to swallow for Burns, but he took all accountability for it during his first post-fight statement after UFC 299 (via Instagram):

Felt great in there! Put on a great training camp and a good strategy, unfortunately it’s the fight game made a bad decision and paid for it! And I was very happy to be in there! Shoutout to Jack Della on a great win! No excuses, just grateful to God, for my family, my team, my friends my sponsors, supporters and to all the fans time to rest and expend a quality time with my family. See you guys soon!

Burns, 37, now must go back to the drawing board in the rapidly evolving welterweight division. He’s 3-3 in his past six fights since unsuccessfully challenging then-champ Kamaru Usman for the belt in February 2021, with his past two fights resulting in losses to Della Maddalena and Belal Muhammad.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.