Gilbert Burns doesn’t think Khamzat Chimaev is as good as many people have talked him up to be.
Ever since Chimaev got to the UFC and got two wins in 10 days on Fight Island, many have hyped him up as the next big thing. He backed it up with a one-punch KO over Gerald Meerschaert and a dominant submission win over Li Jingliang. In all four of his UFC fights, he has only absorbed one significant strike.
Yet, for Burns, he doesn’t take much away from those bouts as he says he too would’ve dominated those opponents, which is why he is so confident he will derail the hype train on Saturday night.
“Nothing special. I think his wrestling is very good. His control, his ground-and-pound is good. And the fact that he’s very long helps, too, so he gets good grips, good control, knows where to put the weight,” Burns said at UFC 273 media day. “Very technical, hits hard. But the opponents didn’t do too well. Those guys don’t know how to get up. The other ones don’t know how to wrestle. I don’t even know, I got to look at it to watch it, but his first two UFC opponents, do you know their name? Anyone? No one knows. For sure, they’re pretty tough to be in the UFC, but they’re not Gilbert Burns.
“They’re not in the top of the division. So, all due respect, sorry for you if you were one of these guys, no offense, but I’m in the top of the division, you know? I give this guy the opportunity,” Burns continued. “I want to fight him because I believe he’s very good, but I don’t see a monster, I see a human being. Confident, a little bit cocky, undefeated, thinks he’s the best, untouchable, but we shall see. We shall see Saturday.”
Although Khamzat Chimaev has a ton of hype, not many fighters were interested in taking him on. That all changed when Gilbert Burns made it clear he wanted the bout. ‘Durinho’ wants to be the first person to hand the Swede a loss which he says he will do on Saturday night as he believes he will finish Chimaev and earn another title shot.
“This guy is very tough, but we’re gonna test and see if this guy is real or not. I’m here. I’m the guy to test this guy, to stop the hype train,” Burns concluded. “So, I like it. I’m here in this position. I asked to be here. I want to fight the best guys. If he’s one of those, if he’s that beast, that’s the guy I want to fight.”
Do you think Gilbert Burns can pull off the upset and beat Khamzat Chimaev?