Burns lost to Kamaru Usman at UFC 258 last time out and will be eager to bounce back quick.
Thompson, meanwhile, has got his career back on track with two straight wins over Vicente Luque and Geoff Neal.
Both fighters are eager to secure another shot at welterweight gold in the near future but must win this weekend to keep those dreams alive.
Here's everything you need to know about the fight.
Burns v Thompson: Date and start time
This fight is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 10 and will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The early prelims will get under way from 1am on Sunday morning in the UK.
Burns v Thompson is set to be the penultimate fight meaning it should get under way at around 4am.
Burns v Thompson: TV and live stream
UFC 264 will be a pay-per-view event in the UK and will be shown on BT Sport Box Office.
The price of the event is £19.95 with repeats showing throughout the weekend.
Coverage of the UFC 264 prelims will be shown on BT Sport 2 from 1am before the PPV action starts at 3am on BT Sport Box Office.
Burns v Thompson: Fight card
Subject to change
Main Card
MAIN EVENT: Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor, Lightweight
Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson, Welterweight
Tai Tuivasa vs. Greg Hardy, Heavyweight
Irene Aldana vs. Yana Kunitskaya, Women's Bantamweight
Sean O'Malley vs. Kris Moutinho, Bantamweight
Preliminary card
Carlos Condit vs. Max Griffin, Welterweight
Michel Pereira vs. Niko Price, Welterweight
Ryan Hall vs. Ilia Topuria, Featherweight
Dricus du Plessis vs. Trevin Giles, Middleweight
Jessica Eye vs. Jennifer Maia, Women's Flyweight
Omari Akhmedov vs. Brad Tavares, Middleweight
Jerome Rivera vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov, Flyweight
Alen Amedovski vs. Hu Yaozong, Middleweight