A massive welterweight showdown goes down at UFC 273 on April 9, 2022, in Jacksonville, Florida, at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. During the event’s main card, No. 2-ranked 170 pounder Gilbert Burns will square off against No. 11 Khamzat Chimaev.
Both men are hunting for UFC gold, and a win would elevate the victor to the No. 1 seed, according to UFC president Dana White. Burns is 5-1 in his last six bouts, with his sole loss coming by TKO to welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. “Durinho” bounced back from the defeat by decisioning Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 264 in July 2021.
On the other end, Chimaev is arguably the hottest rising star in the sport. He boasts an undefeated 10-0 professional record, stopping all four of his UFC opponents while only being hit by one significant strike.
While speaking with Helen Yee, Burns outlined the danger Chimaev poses.
“I see it going very hard,” Burns said via MMA Mania. “Especially in the beginning, he might be very strong. I do believe he’s gonna strike a little bit, but I do believe he’s gonna grapple too. He’s gonna try and take me down, wrestle, stay heavy on top, good ground-and-pound, and that’s what I think he’s gonna do.
“I think I’ll have a lot of answers to the game, takedown defense, getting up, a lot of striking too. I see a war. I don’t think it’s gonna be easy for me. I don’t think it’ll be easy for him. I think we’re gonna grind down, and it’s gonna be – I see my arms getting raised, but I think it’s gonna be a war.”
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Burns Is Taking the UFC President’s Word With a Grain of Salt
Even though White declared Burns vs. Chimaev as a No. 1-contender bout, Durinho isn’t holding his breath. Burns believes he’ll need to earn an impressive victory over “Borz” to earn a title shot.
“Yeah, but Dana also said that women will never fight in MMA (UFC),” Burns said. “I respect that when you have one opinion, but later on you change it. He can change it. We will see. I think everything is about the performance. I gotta go there and get a finish and then I can have a title shot, but it’s all about the performance nowadays. If the fight ends up being boring or ends up being not what people expect, for sure we’ve got to do one more fight.”
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Chimaev Doesn’t ‘See a Challenge’ With Burns
Well, Chimaev doesn’t think his clash with Burns will be much of a contest. That’s what he pointed to during a recent interview with RT Sport.
“To be honest, I don’t see a real challenge in him,” Chimaev said via MMA Fighting. “We’ll see. Everything may happen in a fight, but I am confident as usual. I think I will just smash him with my skills and power. I feel that way. He might feel different, but I will go there and do what I did the last time.”
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Gilbert Burns Breaks Down UFC 273 Fight With Khamzat Chimaev