Career
A professional competitor since 2006, he has formerly competed for the UFC.
Originally from Glidden, Iowa, Burns was a talented football player, competing at the collegiate level Burns later began training in Tae Kwon Do at the age of 18, before transitioning into Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and then finally mixed martial arts Early career
With only ten months of training, Burns made his amateur Mobile Marketing Association debut, defeating Josh Neer.
Burns took his first loss in the bout.
The loss did not slow down Burns, as he racked up three more wins. With the wins he earned a four-fight deal with the UFC. Ultimate Fighting Championship
He submitted Roan in the second round and was awarded Submission of the Night.
During his fight with Anthony Johnson in UFC: Silva versus Irvin, he repeatedly poked Johnson in the eyes, for which he received four separate warnings by the referee, Steve Mazzagatti.
Only after seeing the replay from a different camera angle was it seen that the reason for Johnson falling to the ground was due to one of Burns" open handed jabs landing deep into his eye.
After some confusion, Steve Mazzagatti stopped the bout as a no contest. After the fight Johnson appealed the decision as being poked in the eye was a foul, but it was ultimately rejected due to lack of remedy. Burns has claimed that the eye-jabs were not intentional and due to a prior broken hand, which he states forced him to punch with a looser hand.
Johnson defeated Burns with a third-round knockout in their rematch at The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale.
Burns was defeated by Chris Lytle via unanimous decision in a back and forth war at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale. The fight did prove to be positive as Burns was given an extra $25,000 for earning Fight of the Night.
Burns lost to TJ Grant via first round TKO at UFC 107. After losing three straight bouts, Burns was released from the UFC.