Usman Helping Burns With Khamzat: ‘That’s Rocky And Apollo’

Gilbert Burns is pulling out all the stops for his upcoming matchup with undefeated sensation Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273 next weekend. That includes bringing current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman into camp for some pointers.

Remember, Burns and Usman trained together at Sanford MMA before their title fight back at UFC 258. Usman left the gym to train under Trevor Wittman and ended up defeating “Durinho” via third-round TKO to defend his UFC welterweight title for the third time. The two fighters have remained friends and are now putting their minds together to find a way to solve the puzzle that is “Borz.”

Burns, who is coming off a dominant decision win over Stephen Thompson back at UFC 264, is a massive underdog for his upcoming tilt with Chimaev. The Russian contender has an incredible amount of hype behind him and it has left people wondering if Burns can even make it out of the first round. That’s how good Chimaev has looked, but nobody is safe inside of the Octagon and Burns is hoping to prove that next weekend at UFC 273.

In order to give himself the best shot possible to defeat Chimaev and work his way back towards another title shot against Usman, Burns has welcomed the champ himself into his camp with open arms. Usman isn’t doing much training or sparring due to injury, but he is offering up his fight IQ and high-level experience.

“Usman came a couple of days to help out,” Burns said to TMZ Sports. “He was helping me a couple of times, not training with me but kinda coaching. Kind of on the side giving a lot of advice in my last three or four sparrings. Very high IQ and very good advice. Was good to have him around.”

The situation may seem odd considering Burns is most likely to get the next shot at Usman with a win of Khamzat, but the two have remained cordial and professional. It’s not something we see too often in the sport of MMA, especially when it comes to a champion and his biggest competition.

“That’s Rocky and Apollo, Apollo beat Rocky and came out to help out so yeah that’s kind of like being in it,” said Burns. “To be honest, I make peace with that. The guy beat me, for sure I want to become champion, but I’m not after Kamaru, I’m after the title, I want to become the champion, I want to become the best. I don’t have any beef, nothing personal, no grudge against Kamaru.”

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