Herbert Burns vows to return strong after suffering an ugly loss at UFC Long Island.
The Brazilian featherweight looked to be headed to a win early against Bill Algeo at Saturday’s show in Elmont, N.Y., but his performance level notably dropped off after he failed to submit Algeo with a triangle choke in Round 1. Burns struggled to stand up from the canvas and had to be helped over to his corner by his team between rounds.
Burns’ older brother Gilbert could be heard verbally pushing him to continue, which Herbert did — only to lose via TKO a little under two minutes later when he was unable to stand. The UFC Long Island commentary team noted that Burns was coming off of surgery to his ACL, and Burns later released a statement in which he confirmed that a knee injury contributed to his loss.
“I want to thank everyone for the support today,” Burns said via social media. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t the result I was looking for. My knee gave out. It was not stable. I couldn’t continue fighting. I couldn’t finish the triangle. I couldn’t perform the way I wanted to, but I’ll be back.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen here. Another surgery? We will see. I’ll keep you guys updated, but I just want to let you guys know that I love you guys very much and you guys mean a lot to me.”
In the video, which can be seen below, Burns is standing on crutches with his right leg in a brace.
Message to the fans, thank you, I will be back!#UFCLongIsland pic.twitter.com/xpFcIK8prV
— Herbert Burns (@HerbertBurnsMMA) July 16, 2022
Burns has now lost two straight fights after beginning his UFC career with three straight first-round finishes. Saturday marked his first fight since August 2020.