Mads Burnell (born March 6, 1994) is a Danish mixed martial artist who competes in featherweight division. A Professional mixed martial artist since 2013, Burnell has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA, Professional Fighters League (PFL), and Cage Warriors, where he was a Featherweight champion. He was the European Championship (Brazilian jiu-jitsu) European No-Gi Champion in 2014.
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 8âÂÂ1 prior joining UFC.
Burnell made his promotional debut on September 2, 2017, facing Michel Prazeres, replacing Islam Makhachev at ." 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. 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 . He won the fight via unanimous decision.
On May 27, 2018, Burnell faced Arnold Allen at . 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.
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.
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 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 ÃÂdám Borics on March 12, 2022, at Bellator 276. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.
Burnell faced Pedro Carvalho on September 23, 2022, at Bellator 285. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.
Burnell faced Justin Gonzales on April 22, 2023 at Bellator 295. He won the bout via unanimous decision.
Burnell faced Daniel Weichel on September 23, 2023 at Bellator 299. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
Moving up to LW, Burnell started the 2024 season with a bout against Michael Dufort on April 12, 2024 at PFL 2. He lost the fight due to a guillotine choke submission.
Burnell faced Clay Collard in the main event of PFL 5 at Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, UT on June 21, 2024. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Burnell faced Elvin Espinoza on August 16, 2024 at PFL 8. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
On February 26, 2025, the promotion officially revealed that Burnell joined the 2025 PFL Lightweight Tournament.
In the quarterfinal, Burnell faced Jay-Jay Wilson on April 18, 2025, at PFL 3. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round three.
Burnell faced Robert Watley on August 15, 2025, at PFL 9, and lost the bout via technical knockout in the third round.
|- |Loss |align=center|20âÂÂ8 |Robert Watley |TKO (elbows and punches) |PFL 9 (2025) | |align=center|3 |align=center|2:43 |Charlotte, North Carolina, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|20âÂÂ7 |Jay-Jay Wilson |TKO (elbows and punches) |PFL 3 (2025) | |align=center|3 |align=center|4:42 |Orlando, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|20âÂÂ6 |Elvin Espinoza |Decision (unanimous) |PFL 8 (2024) | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Hollywood, Florida, United States | |- |Win |align=center|19âÂÂ6 |Clay Collard |Decision (unanimous) |PFL 5 (2024) | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Salt Lake City, Utah, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|18âÂÂ6 |Michael Dufort |Submission (guillotine choke) |PFL 2 (2024) | |align=center|2 |align=center|1:03 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Win |align=center|18âÂÂ5 |Daniel Weichel |Decision (unanimous) |Bellator 299 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Dublin, Ireland | |- |Win |align=center|17âÂÂ5 |Justin Gonzales |Decision (unanimous) |Bellator 295 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |- |Loss |align=center|16âÂÂ5 |Pedro Carvalho |Decision (unanimous) |Bellator 285 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Dublin, Ireland | |- | Loss | align=center|16âÂÂ4 | ÃÂdám Borics | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 276 | | align=center| 5 | align=center| 5:00 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | |- |Win |align=center|16âÂÂ3 |Emmanuel Sanchez |Decision (unanimous) |Bellator 263 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Los Angeles, California, United States | |- |Win |align=center|15âÂÂ3 |Saul Rogers |Submission (rear-naked choke) |Bellator 257 | |align=center|2 |align=center|4:08 |Uncasville, Connecticut, United States | |- |Win |align=center|14âÂÂ3 |Darko Banovic |TKO (punches) |Bellator 248 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:13 |Paris, France | |- |Win |align=center|13âÂÂ3 |Steve Aimable | Decision (unanimous) |Cage Warriors 111 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |London, England | |- |Win | align=center|12âÂÂ3 | Dean Trueman | Submission (Japanese necktie) | Cage Warriors 106 | | align=center| 2 | align=center| 3:04 | London, England | |- |Win | align=center|11âÂÂ3 | Ahmed Vila | Submission (Japanese necktie) | Cage Warriors 103 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:50 | Copenhagen, Denmark | |- |Win | align=center|10âÂÂ3 | Lukasz Rajewski | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Cage Warriors 99 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 3:23 | Colchester, England | |- |Loss | align=center| 9âÂÂ3 | Arnold Allen | Submission (guillotine choke) | | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 2:41 | Liverpool, England | |- | Win | align=center| 9âÂÂ2 | Mike Santiago | Decision (unanimous) | | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 5:00 | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | |- |Loss | align=center| 8âÂÂ2 | Michel Prazeres | Submission (north-south choke) | | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 1:26 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | |- | Win | align=center| 8âÂÂ1 | Fernando Duarte Bagordache | Submission (Japanese necktie) | Scottish Organisation of MMA 2 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 1:21 | Glasgow, Scotland | |- | Win | align=center| 7âÂÂ1 | Anthony Riggio | Submission (Japanese necktie) | MMA Galla: Gonzalez vs. Djursaa | | align=center| 1 | align=center| N/A | Odense, Denmark | |- | Win | align=center| 6âÂÂ1 | Emerik Youmbi | Decision (unanimous) | ICE FC 12 | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 5:00 | Newcastle, England | |- |Loss | align=center| 5âÂÂ1 | Ott Tonissaar | TKO (punches) | Octagon Athletes 2 | | align=center| 2 | align=center| N/A | Toreby, Denmark | |- | Win | align=center| 5âÂÂ0 | Hyram Rodriguez | Decision (unanimous) | Shooters MMA: Battle of Copenhagen 4 | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 5:00 | Copenhagen, Denmark | |- | Win | align=center| 4âÂÂ0 | Jamie Reynolds | Submission (armbar) | Odense Fight Night 3 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:30 | Copenhagen, Denmark | |- | Win | align=center| 3âÂÂ0 | Nasir Aoubi | Decision (unanimous) | Trophy MMA 4 | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 5:00 | Malmö, Sweden | |- | Win | align=center| 2âÂÂ0 | Ali Selcuk Ayin | Submission (brabo choke) | European MMA 8 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 0:50 | Brondby, Denmark | |- | Win | align=center| 1âÂÂ0 | Aleksander Sredanovic | Submission (brabo choke) | European MMA 6 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| N/A | Brondby, Denmark | |-