Mads Burnell

Mads Burnell
File:Mads Burnell.jpg Mads Burnell
Born	Mads Zerahn Burnell (1994-03-06) March 6, 1994 Husum, Denmark
Nationality	Danish
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight	66 kg (146 lb; 10 st 6 lb)
Division	Featherweight
Reach	69 in (175 cm)
Fighting out of	Copenhagen, Denmark
Team	Arte Suave Copenhagen Xtreme Couture
Trainer	Nikolai Koubti
Rank	1st degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Chris Haueter
Years active	2013–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	20
Wins	16
By knockout	1
By submission	9
By decision	6
Losses	4
By knockout	1
By submission	2
By decision	1
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Mads Burnell (born March 6, 1994) is a Danish mixed martial artist who competes in featherweight division of Bellator MMA. Professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Burnell has also competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Cage Warriors, where he was a Featherweight champion. He was the European Championship (Brazilian jiu-jitsu) European No-Gi Champion in 2014. As of February 1, 2022, he is #2 in the Bellator Featherweight Rankings.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Burnell started his professional MMA career in 2013 and won his first five bouts and met his first defeat when he faced Ott Tonissaar at Octagon Athletes 2. He fought all this fights in Northern Europe and amassed a record of 8–1 prior joining UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Burnell made his promotional debut on September 2, 2017 facing Michel Prazeres, replacing Islam Makhachev at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Struve." He lost the fight via submission due to a north-south choke in the third round.

His second fight came against Mike Santiago on January 14, 2018 at UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

On May 27, 2018, Burnell faced Arnold Allen at UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till. After dominating most of the fight, he was caught in a front naked choke in the third round and lost the fight.

On September 7, 2018, Burnell was released from UFC.

Cage Warriors

On September 7, 2018, news surfaced that Burnell had signed a contract with Cage Warriors. Burnell made his promotional debut against Lukasz Rajewski at Cage Warriors 99 on November 17, 2018. After weathering the early storm from Rajewski, Burnell took the fight to the ground and finished the fight via rear-naked choke in the first round.

Burnell challenged Dean Trueman for the Cage Warriors featherweight title at Cage Warriors 106 on June 29, 2019. Burnell submitted Trueman by japanese necktie in the second round and captured the featherweight championship.

Burnell was expected to make his first title defense against Steve Aimable at Cage Warriors London on November 22, 2019. However, Aimable could not make championship weight and the fight was changed to non-title bout. Burnell won the fight via unanimous decision.

Bellator MMA

On August 4, 2020, news surfaced that Burnell had signed a contract with Bellator.

Burnell made his debut on October 10, 2020 at Bellator 248. He faced Darko Banovic and won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Burnell was scheduled to face The Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber standout Saul Rogers on April 2, 2021 at Bellator 255. However, the bout was cancelled due to visa issues. It eventually took place on April 16, 2021 at Bellator 257. Burnell won the bout via second round rear-naked choke.

Burnell faced Emmanuel Sanchez at Bellator 263 on July 31, 2021. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

On September 22, 2021, it was announced that Burnell had signed a new, multi-fight contract with Bellator.

Burnell headlined against Ádám Borics on March 12, 2022 at Bellator 276. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

• Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
  • CWFC Featherweight Championship (One time)
• Scottish Organisation of Mixed Martial Arts
  • SOMMA Featherweight Championship (One time)
• MMAJunkie.com
  • 2019 June Submission of the Month vs. Dean Trueman
• Nordic MMA Awards - MMAviking.com
  • 2017 Submission of the Year vs. Fernando Duarte

Grappling

• European Championship (Brazilian jiu-jitsu)
  • European No-Gi Champion 2014

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
20 matches	16 wins	4 losses
By knockout	1	1
By submission	9	2
By decision	6	1

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	16–4	Ádám Borics	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 276	March 12, 2022	5	5:00	St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Win	16–3	Emmanuel Sanchez	Decision (unanimous)	Bellator 263	July 31, 2021	3	5:00	Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	15–3	Saul Rogers	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Bellator 257	April 16, 2021	2	4:08	Uncasville, Connecticut, United States
Win	14–3	Darko Banovic	TKO (punches)	Bellator 248	October 10, 2020	1	3:13	Paris, France
Win	13–3	Steve Aimable	Decision (unanimous)	Cage Warriors 111	November 22, 2019	3	5:00	London, England	Non-title bout; Aimable missed weight (145.2 lbs).
Win	12–3	Dean Trueman	Submission (Japanese necktie)	Cage Warriors 106	June 29, 2019	2	3:04	London, England	Won CWFC Featherweight Championship.
Win	11–3	Ahmed Vila	Submission (Japanese necktie)	Cage Warriors 103	March 9, 2019	1	0:50	Copenhagen, Denmark
Win	10–3	Lukasz Rajewski	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Cage Warriors 99	November 17, 2018	1	3:23	Essex, England
Loss	9–3	Arnold Allen	Submission (front choke)	UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till	May 27, 2018	3	2:41	Liverpool, England
Win	9–2	Mike Santiago	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi	January 14, 2018	3	5:00	St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Loss	8–2	Michel Prazeres	Submission (north-south choke)	UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Struve	September 2, 2017	3	1:26	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Lightweight bout.
Win	8–1	Fernando Duarte Bagordache	Submission (Japanese necktie)	Scottish Organisation of MMA 2	November 11, 2016	1	1:21	Glasgow, Scotland	Won vacant SOMMA Featherweight Championship.
Win	7–1	Anthony Riggio	Submission (Japanese necktie)	MMA Galla: Gonzalez vs. Djursaa	September 17, 2016	1	N/A	Odense, Denmark	Return to Featherweight.
Win	6–1	Emerik Youmbi	Decision (unanimous)	ICE Fighting Championships 12	November 5, 2016	3	5:00	Newcastle, England
Loss	5–1	Ott Tonissaar	TKO (punches)	Octagon Athletes 2	November 7, 2015	2	0:00	Torebyhallen, Denmark
Win	5–0	Hyram Rodriguez	Decision (unanimous)	Battle of Copenhagen: Reunion	October 3, 2015	3	5:00	Copenhagen, Denmark	Lightweight debut.
Win	4–0	Jamie Reynolds	Submission (armbar)	Odense Fight Night 3	April 25, 2015	1	0:30	Copenhagen, Denmark
Win	3–0	Nasir Aoubi	Decision (unanimous)	Trophy MMA 4: Summerbreak	August 30, 2014	3	5:00	Malmö, Sweden
Win	2–0	Ali Selcuk Ayin	Submission (brabo choke)	European MMA 8	February 22, 2014	1	0:50	Brondby, Denmark
Win	1–0	Aleksander Sredanovic	Submission (anaconda choke)	European MMA 6	September 26, 2013	1	N/A	Brondby, Denmark

See also

• List of current Bellator fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists

External links

• Professional MMA record for Mads Burnell from Sherdog
• Mads Burnell on UFC.com