| Mads Burnell | |
|---|---|
 Mads Burnell | |
| Born | Mads Zerahn Burnell (1994-03-06)March 6, 1994 (age 31) Husum, Denmark[1] |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 66 kg (146 lb; 10 st 6 lb) |
| Division | Featherweight |
| Reach | 69 in (175 cm)[2] |
| Style | Brazilian jiu-jitsu |
| Fighting out of | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Team | Arte Suave Copenhagen Xtreme Couture[3] |
| Trainer | Nikolai Koubti[4] |
| Rank | 1st degree black belt inBrazilian Jiu-JitsuunderChris Haueter[5] |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 28 |
| Wins | 20 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 9 |
| By decision | 10 |
| Losses | 8 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record fromSherdog | |
Mads Burnell (born March 6, 1994) is a Danishmixed martial artist who competes infeatherweight division. A Professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Burnell has competed in theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC),Bellator MMA,Professional Fighters League (PFL), andCage Warriors, where he was a Featherweight champion.[6] He was theEuropean Championship (Brazilian jiu-jitsu) European No-Gi Champion in 2014.[5]
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.[7]
Burnell made his promotional debut on September 2, 2017, facingMichel Prazeres, replacingIslam Makhachev atUFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Struve.[8]"[9] At the weigh ins, Prazeres missed the lightweight limit of 156 pounds, coming in at 159 pounds. As a result the bout was changed to a catchweight and Prazeres was fined 20% of his purse.[10] He lost the fight via submission due to a north-south choke in the third round.[11]
His second fight came againstMike Santiago on January 14, 2018, atUFC Fight Night: Stephens vs. Choi.[12] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[13]
On May 27, 2018, Burnell facedArnold Allen atUFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till.[14] After dominating most of the fight, he was caught in a front naked choke in the third round and lost the fight.[15][16]
On September 7, 2018, Burnell was released from UFC.[17]
On September 7, 2018, news surfaced that Burnell had signed a contract with Cage Warriors.[6] Burnell made his promotional debut against Lukasz Rajewski atCage Warriors 99 on November 17, 2018.[18] 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.[19]
Burnell challenged Dean Trueman for the Cage Warriors featherweight title atCage Warriors 106 on June 29, 2019.[20] Burnell submitted Trueman by japanese necktie in the second round and captured the featherweight championship.[21]
Burnell was expected to make his first title defense against Steve Aimable atCage Warriors London on November 22, 2019.[22] However, Aimable could not make championship weight and the fight was changed to non-title bout.[23] Burnell won the fight via unanimous decision.
On August 4, 2020, news surfaced that Burnell had signed a contract withBellator.[24]
Burnell made his debut on October 10, 2020, atBellator 248. He faced Darko Banovic and won the fight via TKO in the first round.[25]
Burnell was scheduled to faceThe Ultimate Fighter: Team McGregor vs. Team Faber standout Saul Rogers on April 2, 2021, atBellator 255.[26] However, the bout was cancelled due to visa issues.[27] It eventually took place on April 16, 2021, atBellator 257.[28] Burnell won the bout via second round rear-naked choke.[29]
Burnell facedEmmanuel Sanchez atBellator 263 on July 31, 2021.[30] He won the bout via unanimous decision.[31]
On September 22, 2021, it was announced that Burnell had signed a new, multi-fight contract with Bellator.[32]
Burnell headlined againstÁdám Borics on March 12, 2022, atBellator 276.[33] He lost the bout via unanimous decision.[34]
Burnell facedPedro Carvalho on September 23, 2022, atBellator 285.[35] He lost the bout via unanimous decision.[36]
Burnell faced Justin Gonzales on April 22, 2023 atBellator 295.[37] He won the bout via unanimous decision.[38]
Burnell facedDaniel Weichel on September 23, 2023 atBellator 299.[39] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[40]
Moving up to LW, Burnell started the 2024 season with a bout against Michael Dufort on April 12, 2024 atPFL 2.[41] He lost the fight due to a guillotine choke submission.[42]
Burnell facedClay Collard in the main event ofPFL 5 at Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, UT on June 21, 2024.[43] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[44]
Burnell faced Elvin Espinoza on August 16, 2024 atPFL 8.[45] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[46][47]
On February 26, 2025, the promotion officially revealed that Burnell joined the2025 PFL Lightweight Tournament.[48]
In the quarterfinal, Burnell faced Jay-Jay Wilson on April 18, 2025, atPFL 3.[49] He lost the fight via technical knockout in round three.[50]
Burnell faced Robert Watley on August 15, 2025, atPFL 9, and lost the bout via technical knockout in the third round.[51]
| 28 matches | 20 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 3 |
| By submission | 9 | 3 |
| By decision | 10 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 20–8 | Robert Watley | TKO (elbows and punches) | PFL 9 (2025) | August 15, 2025 | 3 | 2:43 | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States | |
| Loss | 20–7 | Jay-Jay Wilson | TKO (elbows and punches) | PFL 3 (2025) | April 18, 2025 | 3 | 4:42 | Orlando, Florida, United States | 2025 PFL Lightweight Tournament Quarterfinal. |
| Win | 20–6 | Elvin Espinoza | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 8 (2024) | August 16, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | 2024 PFL Lightweight Tournament Alternate bout. |
| Win | 19–6 | Clay Collard | Decision (unanimous) | PFL 5 (2024) | June 21, 2024 | 3 | 5:00 | Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | |
| Loss | 18–6 | Michael Dufort | Submission (guillotine choke) | PFL 2 (2024) | April 12, 2024 | 2 | 1:03 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Return to Lightweight. |
| Win | 18–5 | Daniel Weichel | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 299 | September 23, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Dublin, Ireland | |
| Win | 17–5 | Justin Gonzales | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 295 | April 22, 2023 | 3 | 5:00 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Loss | 16–5 | Pedro Carvalho | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 285 | September 23, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | Dublin, Ireland | |
| 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 lb). |
| Win | 12–3 | Dean Trueman | Submission (Japanese necktie) | Cage Warriors 106 | June 29, 2019 | 2 | 3:04 | London, England | Won theCage Warriors 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 | Colchester, England | |
| Loss | 9–3 | Arnold Allen | Submission (guillotine 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 | Catchweight (150 lb) bout; Burnell missed weight. |
| 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; Prazeres missed weight (159 lb). |
| Win | 8–1 | Fernando Duarte Bagordache | Submission (Japanese necktie) | Scottish Organisation of MMA 2 | November 11, 2016 | 1 | 1:21 | Glasgow, Scotland | Won the 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 FC 12 | November 5, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Newcastle, England | |
| Loss | 5–1 | Ott Tonissaar | TKO (punches) | Octagon Athletes 2 | November 7, 2015 | 2 | N/A | Toreby, Denmark | |
| Win | 5–0 | Hyram Rodriguez | Decision (unanimous) | Shooters MMA: Battle of Copenhagen 4 | 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 | 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 (brabo choke) | European MMA 6 | September 26, 2013 | 1 | N/A | Brondby, Denmark | Featherweight debut. |
