Herbert Burns thought he had his chance with the UFC locked up back in April. He was on the main card in a prominent fight at Titan FC in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sitting cageside was UFC president Dana White, with the cameras rolling for White's "Lookin' For A Fight" show.
With an impressive performance, fighters competing on "Lookin' For A Fight" can immediately get signed to a contract, which is how Sage Northcutt and Mickey Gall got into the UFC.
Burns did his part. He took down opponent Luis Gomez right off the opening bell, took his back and finished with a rear-naked choke submission at 2:24 of the first round. White and show co-stars Matt Serra and Din Thomas appreciated the effort. White said Burns won "in impressive fashion." Serra said the bout was essentially over in 10 seconds.
While it wasn't enough to earn him a UFC contract, White offered Burns a spot on "Dana White's Contender Series." On Tuesday, Burns fights Darrick Minner in Las Vegas. White will be watching cageside once again, and if the boss is blown away this time, Burns could walk away with that elusive UFC deal.
"I thought they would get me straight to the roster," Burns told ESPN. "But [White] wants me to win on Contender Series. That was the only option. I'm like, OK. It's never been easy for me -- nothing is easy for me. I felt like if that's the way it needs to be done, let's do it this way."
Burns, whose brother Gilbert is a UFC lightweight, is used to waging an uphill battle. Herbert went 5-0 with ONE Championship from 2013 to 2015, culminating in a first-round finish of Timofey Nastyukhin, the fighter who went on to knock out Eddie Alvarez in Alvarez's ONE debut. Three of Burns' five straight victories were via first-round finish. Burns seemed destined for a featherweight title shot.
It never came together, even after Burns held out for 17 months. Burns said he's still not entirely sure what happened, but he has speculated it's because he left Singapore's Evolve MMA gym, which is owned by ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
When Burns did return, it was after ONE changed its weight-cutting rules, which limit the amount of weight that can be lost with multiple tests to measure both weight and hydration in the lead-up to a fight. The new rules forced him to compete at 155 pounds instead of 145. After losing two straight decisions, Burns departed ONE when his contract expired.
Burns (8-2), who is originally from Brazil, traveled to the United States in pursuit of the next stage of his career. But new surroundings came with new struggles as he sought out a training camp and promotion to fight for. It took more than a year, but Burns eventually found Hard Knocks 365 in Fort Lauderdale, where he now lives and trains. He settled in with Florida-based Titan FC and returned to featherweight in his first fight in 16 months in December 2018. He has since won two fights in a row -- both by submission.
Nicknamed "The Blaze," the 31-year-old Burns is a grappler like his older brother and a two-time national no-gi Jiu-Jitsu champion in Brazil. Last year, Burns won the bronze medal at the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation Pan American no-gi championship.
Jiu-jitsu will always be one of his greatest strengths, but the long layoffs have had some ancillary benefit -- they've allowed Burns time to develop skills standing up. He has been sharpening his striking with coach Henri Hooft and former Glory kickboxing champion Robin van Roosmalen at Hard Knocks.
"He is a sniper in the standup," Gilbert Burns told ESPN. "Guys gotta start to look out for that."
This fight with Minner could be a good matchup stylistically for Burns. Minner has 22 career wins, with 19 coming by submission. He's a wrestler and grappler. Burns notes, though, that Minner has also been submitted six times.
"If I was him, I'd try to keep the fight on the feet," Herbert Burns said. "He believes in his grappling game, he's a wrestler. ... If the fight lasts, eventually we're going to the ground. And I think my grappling is just on another level. If he goes to the ground, he won't have a good night."
If it goes to plan, it could be enough to wow White and earn a UFC contract. But Burns won't take anything for granted.
"My whole life I've been working for [the UFC]," Burns said. "I've fought in big promotions before, but not like the UFC. It has the best fighters. I'm very excited. I'm ready to make a statement."
Dana White's Contender Series, Week 7
Bantamweight: Dwight Joseph (9-1, Liberia, 29 years old) vs. Jay Perrin (8-3, New Hampshire, 26)
Flyweight: Marilia Santos (10-2, Brazil, 26) vs. Lucrezia Ria (7-2, Italy, 27)
Featherweight: Herbert Burns (8-2, Brazil, 31) vs. Darrick Minner (22-9, Nebraska, 29)
Middleweight: Taylor Johnson (5-0, California, 29) vs. Andre Muniz (17-4, Brazil, 29)
Lightweight: Omar Morales (7-0, Venezuela, 33) vs. Harvey Park (12-2, New Mexico, 33)