Why is Gilbert Burns's Neck So Thick? | Explained
Gilbert Burns is known for his elite grappling skills, having racked up almost half of his wins by submission, as well as his powerful hands.
Something else that he is known for is having a gigantic neck.
In this page, we will cover how he achieved this neck, what benefits it has had in his career, and what Burns himself thinks about it.
Table of Contents
Why is Gilbert Burns's Neck So Thick?
Gilbert Burns has credited a combination of his Jiu Jitsu training over the years, and using the Iron neck strength training device as the reason why his neck is so thick.
In his YouTube channel, Burns goes on to further explain that he has also trained a little bit of Wrestling and Jiu Jitsu growing up, and these martial arts have specific exercises to strengthen the neck as well.
Another factor that allowed people to really take notice of his neck is when he stopped cutting large amounts of weight to make the 155 lbs Lightweight limit, and moved up to the 170 lbs Welterweight limit.
Wide Neck and Burns Interaction
There is an ultra-popular Internet sensation known as 'Wide Neck' who took the Internet by storm, when his mugshots were released.
His mugshots would show an abnormally large and impressive neck, to the point where many people thought the photo was photo shopped.
Sure enough, when Wide Neck was seen on video, his neck was as large as advertised which made him an immediate popular figure on Social Media.
Burns would show on his YouTube channel a DM exchange where Wide Neck reached out to Burns and say "You a legend".
They'd go on to have a cordial back and forth, but it was great seeing two human beings with some of the largest necks in the world, show each other respect.
Benefits of a Thick Neck
A thick neck in combat sports has many benefits, and according to Healthline, a thicker neck can lower your risk of injury, stress, and general neck pain.
Additionally, when it comes specifically to Mixed Martial Arts, a wide neck makes it much harder to be submitted.
A testament to this is Burns, has never been submitted in his MMA career.
Now, of course, his elite grappling skills play a large part in not being submitted, but at times when Burns has looked to be in trouble, he has been able to escape regardless of his neck being grabbed.
Yoel Romero
Yoel Romero is another great example of benefiting from having a wide neck.
Similarly to Burns, Romero has very elite skills, as he was an Olympic silver medalist in Freestyle Wrestling.
In addition to that, Romero has one of the largest necks in MMA, and has never been submitted in his career either.
Mike Tyson's Neck
Although Mike Tyson never took part in MMA, as he was conquering the world of Boxing, many people compare Burns's neck to Tyson's neck.
Both fighters are 5'10" in height, which provides them with a similar build.
Then when you look at Tyson's neck, you can immediately see why there's a constant comparison.
At the age of 18, Mike Tyson had already developed a ridiculous 20 inch neck.
Tyson would religiously train his neck muscles, which you can see some of the exercises below.
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