It will be interesting to see how Burns looks after two years out
of action. The younger brother of welterweight contender Gilbert
Burns, “The Blaze” had an up and down 2020 campaign, to say the
least. His first two UFC bouts, including his promotional debut
against Nate
Landwehr, kept up the Brazilian’s tendencies towards
first-round finishes, but he hit a clear wall in a third effort
against Daniel
Pineda. Burns missed weight for the fight and put on a flat
performance. He is usually all about his hot starts to begin with,
but things quickly went downhill after Burns’ opening salvo of
offense, as Pineda took over the fight and pounded out a finish in
the second round. After his long layoff, Burns was initially slated
to cut down to bantamweight in a shocking decision. However, with
Burns and Algeo each losing their opponents on this card, he
instead stays at featherweight for a late-notice assignment. Algeo
is a fighter whose style works better in practice than on paper, as
“Senor Perfecto” does not make much use of his long frame, instead
focusing on pressure and pace while wading through a ton of damage.
Algeo is not a standout athlete, so the whole package figures to
hit a clear wall, but the Pennsylvanian has been durable and
persistent enough to split his four fights in the UFC thus far
despite some clear physical disadvantages. Algeo is more vulnerable
to a submission than a knockout, so there is certainly a chance
that his approach runs him right into a loss, given Burns’ talent
on the mat. At this point, though, Algeo has shown enough to get
the benefit of the doubt that—once again—he can escape some early
trouble and outlast Burns down the stretch, particularly given the
worrying nature of the Brazilian’s last performance. The pick is
Algeo via third-round stoppage.
UFC News & Features
