Earning wins in the UFC is certainly no easy task, but what comes next is often even more important: the post-fight callout.
So after Saturday’s UFC 250 event in Las Vegas, who took advantage of their time on the mic? See below for this week’s Callout Collection – and just how realistic each one is.
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First up, let’s take a look at the preliminary card …
Herbert Burns
Wants to fight: Ryan Hall or Bryce Mitchell
The callout: “I want to get back quickly, I want to get back soon. I want to fight on the ‘Fight Island’. We already know the location – they already decided it’s in Abu Dhabi – so the plan is to go there and fight again soon, and hopefully against a good guy. I gave two names: Bryce Mitchell and Ryan Hall, two grapplers. Ryan Hall’s even ranked – he’d be my first choice. But if he doesn’t want (it), I know Mitchell is a tough guy (and) he doesn’t run from a challenger. I’m a challenger, so let’s go.”
The reality: Herbert Burns may have kicked off his UFC career with a knockout, but he returned to his grappling roots to score an impressive win over Evan Dunham at UFC 250 and his post-fight suggestions for his next opponent showed where his strengths lie.
Burns very smartly called out a pair of fellow grapplers who few people are keen to face right now, which should give him a great chance of landing one of them for his next fight. Mitchell will face anyone and would have no qualms about testing his own impressive ground game against the Brazilian grappling ace. But the fight that offers the most intrigue for me is the Hall fight. “The Wizard’s” very specific set of ground skills has made him a must-avoid opponent at 145 pounds, which makes Burns’ callout all the more interesting.
Both matchups seem like valid options for Burns, but the Hall fight offers a bout against ranked opposition and gives “The Blaze” the chance to catapult himself towards title contention at 145 pounds while his older brother Gilbert attempts to capture gold at 170. A two-pronged Burns brothers title charge would certainly make for an interesting narrative, so sending Herbert down the faster track could make promotional sense here.
Next up: Middleweight campaigner offers two solid options
Callout Collection: Who UFC 250 winners want next – and how likely they'll get them