Gilbert Burns is explaining why he’s rooting for Luke Rockhold over fellow Brazilian Paulo Costa at UFC 278.

It will be Costa (13-2 MMA) vs Rockhold(16-5 MMA) in the co-main middleweight event at UFC 278 this coming Saturday, August 20th, at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Costa, 31, will be entering the Octagon with 2 back to back losses against Marvin Vettori (18-5 MMA) in October of 2021 and Israel Adesanya (23-1 MMA) in September 2020. The Brazilian will be looking to defeat Rockhold to get himself back in the win column.

Rockhold, 37, will enter the cage for the 1st time in 3 years. The Californian has not won a fight in 5 years, his last win coming against David Branch (22-7 MMA) back in September of 2017. The former UFC champion has a lot to prove and will be looking to defeat Costa this Saturday night.

In a recent appearance on ‘Connect Cast’, a Brazilian podcast, Gilbert Burns was asked about who he was rooting for between Rockhold and Costa, and he responded saying (h/t Brazilian MMA Fighters):

“I’m rooting for Rockhold. ‘Borrachinha’, I have nothing against him, but I think he’s a clown. On his Twitter he only posts nonsense and bullsh*t. He lost the fight to Adesanya, it happens, you lost. Then he went to fight Marvin Vettori and showed up super heavy.”

So there you have it, Gilbert Burns is rooting for Rockhold. Although Burns claims he has nothing against Costa, he shared his belief that he’s a ‘clown’ and doesn’t appreciate his social media antics, never mind his back to back appearance losses in the cage.

As for Burns, 36, (20-5 MMA), he’s coming off a unanimous decision loss to Khamzat Chimaev (11-0 MMA) at UFC 273 in April of this year. ‘Durinho’ is rumored to be looking to fight Jorge Masvidal (35-16 MMA) in the near future, but nothing has been confirmed to date.

Do you agree with Burns’ comments about Paulo Costa? Who are you rooting for at UFC 278 – Costa or Rockhold?

Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!