"Gym shenanigans" - Fans in splits as Gilbert Burns has a slap fight with UFC lightweight vet

Gilbert Burns recently engaged in some slap-fighting with a man who holds UFC victories over Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier. The video footage appeared online via the Instagram account of 'Durinho'. The video was credited to @hugomoreirafilms, with the former UFC welterweight title challenger going slap for slap against a tenured UFC lightweight veteran.

The individual in question was Michael Johnson and it was clearly a playful interaction between the two. The form of slapping they got up to actually had far more dimension than Power Slap. Each was able to be defensively sound, clinch each other, etc. as opposed to just standing there and waiting to be struck.

Burns posted footage of this interaction with a caption half in English and half in Portuguese. The Portuguese-to-English translation intimated that Johnson was talking trash and how they had to settle things. The English half of the caption joked about how they 'got that Power Slap going'.

Several Instagram users in the MMA sphere commented in droves on the slap-a-thon between Burns and Johnson.

@combatjuggernaut said:

"Gym shenanigans"

@kylefedz stated:

"Unbelievable"

@henrihooft quipped:

"Boyzzzzz"

Check out the Gilbert Burns vs. Michael Johnson slap battle below:

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Gilbert Burns and Michael Johnson's history with one another

Gilbert Burns and Michael Johnson were certainly being playful in the slap-centric fight posted above. But the two have a long history of getting in that serious work with one another in preparation for their UFC fights. Instagram footage of Burns and Johnson getting in some solid sparring rounds still exists out there from almost a decade ago.

This was when both men were training with The Blackzilians. There was still a casual rapport between the mixed martial artists when getting to work. This was seen particularly in a clip that saw Johnson take down Burns and then later smile after the grappling exchange.

The other clip that came from the summer of 2016 saw the two engage in a spirited but yet not overly intense session of kickboxing sparring. Henri Hooft, who coaches these fighters and made his comments on their slapping video, would eventually leave the Blackzilians years back to form a stable known as Combat Club.

This would go on to have subsequent name changes with the gym eventually being called Hard Knocks 365. The space would then go on to be called Sanford MMA and is now known today as Kill Cliff FC. Both Gilbert Burns as well as Michael Johnson continue to refine their skills inside this elite MMA gym.