Gilbert Burns and Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu have both been regarded as one of the best grapplers on the planet at several points in time, so watching them train together is truly eye-opening. Both men have won multiple IBJJF no gi world championships throughout their career and they actually stood on top of the podium at that tournament for the first time together. Back in 2010, Burns won the middleweight division while Cyborg won a pair of gold medals at both ultra-heavyweight and in the absolute division.
They’ve both reached the podium of the most prestigious no gi grappling tournament on the planet too, as Gilbert Burns famously won a bronze medal at ADCC 2015 and Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu has a collection of four medals ranging from bronze to gold from the event. A few years before that, their combat sports careers were actually diverging and going in different directions. While Cyborg continued competing at the highest levels of professional grappling for years to come, Burns made his professional MMA debut in 2012 and quickly put together a perfect 7-0 record to earn a shot in the UFC.
Although Burns has still competed in some grappling events, he has undoubtedly been focusing on his MMA career first and foremost. That dedication has paid off in a huge way, as Burns has developed some powerful striking to complement his phenomenal grappling ability over the years. He put together a 12-3 record in the UFC octagon that earned him a title-shot against Kamaru Usman back at UFC 258, although he came just short of his goal. He still sits at the very top of the title-picture in the welterweight division and still has plenty of time left to win the belt, along with a likely full-time return to professional grappling as and when he does choose to retire from MMA.
The footage of Gilbert Burns and Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu was recently uploaded to our official Instagram account:
