Gilbert Burns admits he let his surprising performance against Khamzat Chimaev get to his head.

Burns (22-8 MMA, 15-8 UFC) closed as a massive underdog against undefeated Chimaev in their welterweight matchup at UFC 273 in April 2022. Although he lost a close decision, Burns pushed Chimaev to the brink in one of the best back-and-forth battles of the year.

The former title challenger built confidence from his performance, but it wound up having a negative impact on his career. He explains how.

"I got a lot of fans, got a lot of recognition, which is not a bad thing," Burns said in an interview with "Home of Fight." "It was good. (I got) a lot of opportunities, a couple of sponsors, the fans recognized me everywhere, and it built up my platform to a different level. Then you kind of get caught up with it a little bit – making money, traveling, getting recognition.

"That kind of took me slowly away from my path, from that 'Durinho' that trains hard, that wants to become a champion. It was not a bad thing to have that financial growth, but it kind of took me a little bit out of my path. Slowly, after those couple of losses, it was actually very good for me to reflect on that, see what I changed, and start correcting that a little bit, putting my priorities first."

Burns will look to snap a three-fight losing skid when he meets rising contender Michael Morales (17-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) in Saturday's UFC Fight Night 256 (ESPN+) main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: How Khamzat Chimaev UFC loss negatively impacted Gilbert Burns' career