Gilbert Burns News

Harry Kettle - February 18, 2022

Gilbert Burns has reacted to upcoming opponent Khamzat Chimaev calling the Brazilian an “easy fight”. Within the context of the welterweight division, there have been few more intriguing fighters to watch in recent years than Gilbert Burns. His rise to prominence at 170 pounds took him all the way to a title shot and while he ultimately fell short against Kamaru Usman, many believe he still has what it takes to challenge for the gold in the future.

Cole Shelton - February 16, 2022

Khamzat Chimaev doesn’t think Gilbert Burns is a real challenge. Chimaev is coming off a dominant first-round submission over Li Jingliang and has been rumored to face Burns. However, the fight has not been booked but if it does, Chimaev doesn’t think it would last very long as he says the Brazilian isn’t a challenge.

Harry Kettle - February 1, 2022

Chael Sonnen has given his thoughts on what could happen if Khamzat Chimaev is able to beat Gilbert Burns. As of this writing, the Ultimate Fighting Championship appears to be targeting a showdown between Khazmat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns for UFC 273. The meeting between these two top welterweights, in the eyes of many, could serve as a de-facto number one contender fight – especially if Chimaev is able to win convincingly and keep his magnificent start in the UFC going.

Josh Evanoff - January 28, 2022

Khamzat Chimaev has been begging for a UFC contender for the past few months. It seems that he’s finally going to get it. ‘Borz’ has recently been calling out seemingly anyone and everyone for a fight. Even slamming top figures such as Kamaru Usman, Conor McGregor, and Brock Lesnar. However, he’s been unable to get any high-profile bout since his destruction of Li Jingliang in October 2021.

Christopher Taylor - January 6, 2022

Khamzat Chimaev has agreed to fight former UFC welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns on April 9. Chimaev (10-0 MMA) last competed at October’s UFC 267 event, where he needed less than a round to dispose of ranked welterweight Li Jingliang. That contest was Khamzat’s first since September of 2020, where he had scored a sensational 18-second knockout win over Gerald Meerschaert (see that here).

Adam D Martin - November 30, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns explained why current 170lbs champ Kamaru Usman would have beaten a prime Georges St-Pierre. Burns fought Usman earlier this year at UFC 258 and he used to train with him at Sanford MMA, so Burns knows “The Nigerian Nightmare” quite well. He also knows GSP quite well. Although Burns didn’t get a chance to fight him, he has watched St-Pierre compete for many years and knows what his game is all about. So when you ask Burns about who would win between a prime Usman and a prime GSP, his answer gets very interesting.

Adam D Martin - November 28, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns says the UFC tried to match him up against Vicente Luque, but both fighters declined the matchup. Burns and Luque are two of the top-five ranked welterweights in the UFC, and both men are currently without a fight booked, so it makes sense that they fight, right? Not so fast. Not only do both fighters train together at Sanford MMA, but they are also incredibly close friends and essentially “brothers,” as Luque told BJPenn.com’s Cole Shelton back in April. Luque said then that he would never fight Burns due to their close familial relationship.

Harry Kettle - November 19, 2021

Chael Sonnen doesn’t believe Khamzat Chimaev vs Gilbert Burns should be the direction UFC goes in. As of this writing, the UFC appears to be favouring the idea of putting Khamzat Chimaev up against Gilbert Burns in what would serve as a huge welterweight showdown. If that transpires, it may well put Chimaev on the doorstep of a UFC welterweight title shot if he’s able to get the win.

Adam D Martin - November 15, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns is open to fighting anyone, but he says that Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev top the list. Burns is the No. 2 ranked welterweight in the UFC, so it’s natural that he is connected to fights with the other top fighters in the division. On Sunday, reports emerged that Burns could be matched up against Chimaev sometime in 2022, though that fight is far from a done deal. Speaking to MMAjunkie.com in a recent interview, Burns was asked what he wants next. As far as Burns goes, he is down to fight anyone that the UFC offers him, but if he had to choose someone, in particular, it would be either Covington or Chimaev next.

Adam Martin - November 14, 2021

Rising UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev is reportedly in discussions to fight top-five ranked Gilbert Burns in his next outing. Frontkick.Online reported on Sunday that the latest their sources have told them is that the UFC is currently in discussions to book Chimaev vs. Burns, characterizing the talks as “not done, but likely to get booked.” According to the report, the UFC is planning on booking this fight in January, rather than the December date that Chimaev originally wanted. Once again, the contracts for this fight are not officially signed yet, but talks are progressing.

Adam D Martin - November 3, 2021

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier suggested that emerging welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev fight against Gilbert Burns next. Chimaev absolutely destroyed Li Jingliang on the UFC 267 main card in what was by far the most impressive performance of his career. He is now a perfect 4-0 in the Octagon and there are some who believe that Chimaev should be fast-tracked towards a title shot. However, it seems likely that he will have to fight at least one more time before the UFC gives him the shot at the UFC welterweight title. The promotion is reportedly looking into the possibility of a fight against Nate Diaz, but so far, nothing has been made official.

Adam Martin - October 10, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns trashed “coward” Leon Edwards for reportedly turning down the Jorge Masvidal fight. Edwards and Masvidal got into it a few years ago at a UFC London event, where Masvidal struck Edwards backstage with his “three-piece and a soda” combo. Masvidal became a superstar following that incident and ended up fighting for the belt twice against Kamaru Usman, while Edwards has been fairly inactive since then. It’s now two years later, and these are still two of the best welterweights on the planet. With both Edwards and Masvidal currently without an upcoming fight, it does make sense for them to fight each other.

Adam D Martin - September 8, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns called out fellow top-10 ranked fighter Neil Magny, and “The Haitian Sensation” responded to him. Burns is coming off of a decision win over Stephen Thompson at UFC 264 and he is currently the No. 2 ranked fighter in the UFC welterweight division. Burns has called out the likes of Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal for his next fight, but so far, he hasn’t had anything booked. It seems like “Durinho” is now getting frustrated by sitting around and waiting, and he wants to get back into the cage soon. Since that’s the case, it seems like Burns is now willing to fight down the ladder, including against the No. 8 ranked Magny.

Chris Taylor - August 14, 2021

Jorge Masvidal is interested in fighting Leon Edwards or Gilbert Burns next and the latter is definitely down for a future UFC showdown with ‘Gamebred’. Despite having suffered consecutive losses to reigning UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, Masvidal (35-15 MMA) has made it clear that he has not lost his lust for UFC gold.

Adam Martin - August 8, 2021

Top-ranked UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns says that he will never fight his “brother” Vicente Luque inside the Octagon. Burns defeated Stephen Thompson last month at UFC 264 to solidify his spot in the top-five at 170lbs, while Luque submitted Michael Chiesa at UFC 265 to announce that he is a top contender, too. Naturally, with both Burns and Luque coming off of big wins and being ranked in the top-five of the stacked UFC welterweight division, there are some fans who would like to see this matchup next. However, with Burns and Luque being good friends and training partners, “Durinho” says he will never fight against “The Silent Assassin.”

Drake Riggs - August 4, 2021

Gilbert Burns took some unnecessary damage ahead of his UFC 264 clash with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. The former welterweight title challenger managed to rebound off his lone career defeat north of 155-pounds, but he had a scare beforehand. Burns shared in a recent interview with MMA Junkie how he managed to shake off taking a golf club straight to the dome.

Adam D Martin - July 30, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Stephen Thompson says that rival Gilbert Burns was “scared of my striking” during their recent fight at UFC 264. Thompson lost a unanimous decision to Burns in the co-main event of UFC 264 earlier this month. It wasn’t the most exciting fight in the world, and UFC president Dana White later criticized Burns for his grappling-heavy approach to the fight. Still, the Brazilian did what he needed to do to win the fight and to nullify the striking of Thompson, widely considered one of the best standup fighters in the UFC. But if you ask Thompson, the reason why Burns was so content to holding him down is that he was scared of his striking attacks.

Adam D Martin - July 29, 2021

Despite their back-and-forth trash talk, Gilbert Burns admitted that he’s a fan of Nate Diaz, saying “I like him. He’s freaking funny.” Burns was critical of Leon Edwards’ performance against Diaz at UFC 263 in June, which led to Diaz taking a direct shot at Burns, referencing his prior KO loss to Dan Hooker in it.