No. 2 ranked welterweight contender Gilbert Burns requested a fight against undefeated rising star Khamzat Chimaev and thinks he’s the guy to derail the hype train. The two meet on Saturday on the UFC 273 main card.
“I think we’ve got a lot of eyes on this fight. This guy is very tough, but we’re going to test. We’re going to see if that guy is real or not, and I’m here. I’m the guy to test this guy, to stop the hype train,” Burns said during the UFC 273 Media Day.
“I asked to be here. I want to fight the best guys. If he’s one of that, if he’s that beast, that’s the guy that I want to fight.”
Chimaev said during the media day that he considers himself the uncrowned champion in the 170-pound division and predicted that he’d ‘smash’ Burns on Saturday. Burns doesn’t see the fight playing out that way, and sees ‘nothing special’ about Chimaev’s skillset.
“I’m coming, and I’m going to beat this guy,” Burns said. “His wrestling is very good. His control and ground and pound is good. The fact that he’s very long helps too.”
“I”m the top of the division. I give these guys an opportunity. I want to fight him because I believe that he’s very good, but I don’t see a monster. I see a human being. Confident. A little bit cocky. Undefeated and thinks he’s invincible, untouchable. But we shall see.”
Giving a prediction, Burns believes that he’ll finish ‘Borz’ on Saturday.
“I think I’m going to get a finish with this guy, but I don’t know. He’s very tough, so I’m kind of respecting that. But I do believe the way we both fight, I’m going to get a finish,” Burns said.
Khamzat Chimaev: ‘I’m already the champ. People know that’
(Video Courtesy of UFC)
Gilbert Burns: ‘I’m the guy to stop Khamzat Chimaev’s hype train’
