Gilbert Burns has explained why he was so emotional following his defeat to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273.

While he may not have had his hand raised at UFC 273, Gilbert Burns did manage to win even more fans than he already had as a result of his courageous performance against Khamzat Chimaev. ‘Durinho’ went in there and gave everything he had in the name of victory and while he ultimately came up short, his stock in the promotion rose even higher.

It was clear to see that the Brazilian was struggling to contain his emotions and in a recent interview with John Morgan, he explained why that was the case.

“I was so mad because I knew it was a good fight, and people were saying, ‘Ay, don’t worry, that was a great fight.’ And I was so mad when they say that. I kept walking and people (said), ‘Don’t worry, that was a great fight,’ but I lost and I was holding on to, ‘Don’t cry,’ you know? Because I didn’t wanna cry right away… Maybe the third or fourth person came at me, ‘Bro, that was a great fight,’ and then I exploded, crying, ‘but I freakin’ lost!’”

“It gets to a point that, I hate to lose [so much] that I don’t care if it was a great fight. I just wanna win, I don’t wanna lose,” said Burns. “When the fight was over, I was feeling everyone going crazy, everyone screaming at me, and I was holding on to that feeling. And I tried to be positive and see the good things, then first person I see is Dana, ‘That was amazing fight, that was the best fight I ever seen,’ and that same mentality was coming.

“I was holding on [to not cry] every time that he tried to give me good props, a good thing, it was just making me more crazy. Then freakin’ Dana had to make me cry because he talked so much and I was so mad. When I walked out of the Octagon I was already crying, like, ‘s**t, I couldn’t hold it,’” Burns said.

Quotes via MMA News

Who will Gilbert Burns fight next?