Why is Gilbert Burns Called ‘Durinho’?

UFC welterweight elite Gilbert Burns is one of the many talented fighters coming out of Brazil. A jiu-jitsu black belt under the famous coach Rafael Fofitio Barros, he is one of the top grappling fighters of his generation. He is also the former welterweight title challenger.

In 2011, Burns clinched the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Title and then switched his career to mixed martial arts.

He started his MMA career under the tutelage of veteran cage-fighter Vitor Belfort. The latter helped Burns, acting as Grappling Coach during the filming of the reality TV program, The Ultimate Fighter Brazil (TUF): Belfort vs Silva in 2012.

Burns later became a full-time UFC fighter himself in May 2014. He broke through the top-ranked fighters chart shortly and has maintained that from thereon.

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Just like his accomplishments inside the octagon are known to everyone, he also has a nickname that is somewhere as popular as his accomplishments.

How Gilbert Burns got the nickname ‘Durinho’?

Burns and his brothers Herbert and Fredrick started training together as teenagers at the Nova Uniao HQ in Rio de Janeiro. Vitor Ribeiro, one of the principal figures of their team, jokingly started calling Burns’ older brother ‘Todo-Duro’, which means Hardman.

The term was given as everyone thought him to be a tough guy. And they considered Gilbert as a lighter version of his older brother. So they named him ‘Durinho’, meaning a ‘tiny tough guy’. That’s how he came to be known as ‘Durinho’.

‘Durinho’ and his recent stats

Prior to his title fight loss against Kamaru Usman, Burns was riding on a 6 fight win streak. His previous three fights before the loss were against some of the well-established names.

He defeated Gunnar Nelson at UFC Fight Night 160 via unanimous decision. ‘Durinho’ then picked up an impressive TKO win over veteran Demian Maia at UFC Fight Night 170.

However, the biggest win of his career came against the former welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at UFC on ESPN 9 last year in May. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

As mentioned earlier, he fought Usman at UFC 258. He had to incur a TKO loss against his former training partner earlier this year.

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‘Durinho’ is all set to climb his way back into the title picture. He will hope to see positive returns in his upcoming fights and forget the disappointment as soon as possible.

What do you make of Burns‘ nickname ‘Durinho’?