Kevin Burns is a mixed martial arts fighter in UFC's welterweight division. He won his UFC debut at UFC 85 against Roan Carneiro on June 07, 2008 in London, England. He was a late replacement for an injured Ryo Chonan. It won the submission of the night award, earning Burns a $50,000 bonus.

During his fight with Anthony Johnson in UFC: Silva vs. Irvin, he repeatedly poked Johnson in the eyes, for which he received four separate warnings by the referee, Steve Mazzagatti. In the third round, Johnson fell to the ground writhing in pain after an exchange with Burns, and Mazzagatti called the fight to protect Johnson, who was clearly unable to defend himself. Only after seeing the replay from a different camera angle was it seen that the reason for Johnson falling to the ground was due to one of Burns' open handed jabs landing deep into his eye.

After some confusion, Steve Mazzagatti awarded the bout as a TKO for Burns. After the fight Johnson appealed the decision as being poked in the eye was a foul, but it was ultimately rejected due to lack of remedy. Burns has claimed that the eye-jabs were not intentional and due to a prior broken hand, which he states forced him to punch with a looser hand. Johnson defeated Burns with a third round knockout in their rematch at TUF 8.