Burns Eyes Covington, Edwards UFC Fights

Gilbert Burns came up short in his bid to dethrone current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, at UFC 258, losing to “The Nigerian Nightmare” via technical knockout (see it here).

After having his six fight win streak snapped by his former training partner, “Durinho” is looking to take a small break before he gets back into the gym to mount his comeback. And when he’s ready, he already has a few names in mind.

“At first, when I got back to the hotel, I was already thinking, ‘OK, I want to fight Colby next,’” Burns said in an interview with MMA Junkie. “Then Colby is fighting Leon Edwards. ‘OK, give me Michael Chiesa.’ The names were going. Maybe ‘Wonderboy.’ But to be honest, right now I don’t know. I just saw Colby-Leon I don’t think is going to happen,” he added after catching wind that Covington wasn’t interested in facing Leon Edwards.

“That was the one that should happen. We’ll see. Now we’ve got some time, especially with the whole division laid off like that. It looks Kamaru is going to fight (Jorge) Masvidal.”

Of course, getting back to a title fight is Burns’ number one goal and he is looking for the fastest road there. In his eyes, taking out Covington would be a sure-fire way to get him back to the big dance.

“One fight and back to the title would only be Colby Covington. That’s the only one. Or Leon Edwards, if until May he doesn’t get another opponent, and then I fight him. That’s the fight. So I don’t know who I want. I want every single one of these guys,” he added.

“I’ll fight Khamzat. I’ll fight ‘Wonderboy.’ I’ll fight Michael Chiesa. It depends. If the UFC says you need two fights, then I’ll be a little bit behind on the rankings and then a guy up front on the rankings, but if they say one fight, OK, give me Colby Covington.”

That matchup makes sense since their last losses came at the hands of Usman. For now, all Burns — as well as every other top contender at 170 pounds — can do is wait to see what UFC matchmakers have in store for the division in the coming weeks.

If you had your preference, who would you want to see “Durinho” face next?