Gilbert Burns carried his little brother out of the Octagon following UFC defeat in one of MMA's rare wholesome moments
Rachel Ellis
Updated on April 07, 2026
UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns once carried his little brother out of the Octagon in one of MMA’s rare wholesome moments.
Nick and Nate Diaz may be the most famous but the UFC has housed several scrapping siblings during its 30-year history as MMA’s premier league.
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Anthony and Sergio Pettis, Jim and Dan Miller, and Valentina and Antonina Shevchenko are just some of the athletes who have made fighting a family business in the UFC.
However, none of them delivered a moment as wholesome as ‘Durinho’ who rushed to help his younger brother, Herbert Burns, following a strange TKO loss last year.
The 35-year-old appeared to be a chip off the old block when he joined his brother in the UFC in 2019 and quickly picked up three stoppage wins over decent opposition.
Unfortunately, it soon became clear that Herbert would never reach the level of his older brother who once challenged Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title.
He missed weight by 3.5lbs before getting smashed in a second-round TKO loss to Daniel Pineda at UFC 252 in August 2020.
Almost two years later he returned to the Octagon and looked good against Bill Algeo but was again stopped in round two when he refused to stand up after being instructed to do so by referee Keith Peterson.
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The finishing sequence left everyone watching scratching their heads but the focus soon shifted to concern when Gilbert, who is just one year older than him, was seen carrying his stricken brother backstage.
A photo of the Brazilian duo exiting the arena quickly went viral as it showed a rare occurrence of brotherly love in a sport that can be brutal for those on the receiving end of tough defeats.
Naturally, some people poked fun at the photo and others were simply curious about why a man in his mid-thirties was incapable of walking unaided.
Herbert soon took to social media to reflect on his second consecutive loss and explain exactly why he couldn’t stand up or walk after the fight ended.
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He said on Twitter: “What’s up, guys? I want to thank everyone for the support today.
“Unfortunately [it] wasn’t the result I was looking for. My knee gave out. It was not stable and I could not 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 is going to happen there. Another surgery, we will see. I will 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.”
Herbert hasn’t fought since suffering his knee injury in July 2022.
He’ll almost certainly be in Miami this weekend to corner his brother who is set to face Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287 in a fight with potential title implications.
Leon Edwards has expressed an interest defending his 170lb title against the winner of Saturday’s co-main event – but UFC president Dana White wants him to face Colby Covington next.
Whatever happens, Herbert will have his brothers back just as he had his at UFC on ABC 3.
