UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns is targeting a fight with Jorge Masvidal.
The Brazilian has been out of action since his loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273 in April. While he came up short, Burns was praised for his performance as he took the undefeated Chechen to the limit. The pair received a Fight of the Night bonus for their efforts.
Following the bout, the 35-year-old stated that he wanted a big fight next. Burns called for fights against both Diaz brothers, as well as Jorge Masvidal. For his part, āGamebredā agreed to the fight on Twitter. However, the bout hasnāt been booked as of now.
Weeks after Jorge Masvidal agreed to fight him, Gilbert Burns is still awaiting a date. In an interview with The Underground , the former title challenger gave his thoughts on the matchup. Itās safe to say heās confident in a fight against the BMF titleholder.
āI want a big fight. I want to fight Jorge Masvidal, I think thatās the fight that they gonna make it. Like I said, I have tremendous respect for Jorge, guyās got over 50 fights, crazy knockouts, fought in the streets. Thatās the fight I want, I still believe weāre going to put on a show and I can beat the s*it out of him. Like I said, I got a lot of respect for him, but I still believe Iām going to beat him up. I just believe weāre going to put on a show.ā
Gilbert Burns continued, āI know [Masvidal] wants it, I saw him talking, he talked about the fight, he wants the fight. I know the UFC has interest in making that fight. Iām pretty confident the fight is going to happen. I donāt know when, I believe at the end of the year. September, October, November, Iāll put it in that timeframeā.
SINGAPORE ā American Top Team coach Mike Brown doesnāt see a reason why Jorge Masvidal vs. Conor McGregor wonāt happen.
Masvidal (35-16 MMA, 12-9 UFC) has been campaigning for a fight with McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC), but āGamebredā doubts the former UFC dual champion would want to fight him, even though heās targeting a return at welterweight. The two stars have traded barbs on numerous occasions, and Brown thinks it would be the highest-selling fight in UFC history.
āThat would be incredible,ā Brown told MMA Junkie. āI couldnāt imagine a fight that would be bigger. With both of their personalities and their fighting styles, I think it would be the biggest numbers the sportās ever seen.ā
McGregor is still healing from his broken leg suffered in his TKO loss to Dustin Poirier last July at UFC 264. Meanwhile, Masvidal is coming off a lopsided decision loss to former teammate-turned foe Colby Covington at UFC 272 in March.
With McGregor noticeably bulking up in his time off, Brown shut down UFC president Dana Whiteās notion that Masvidal is too big for āThe Notorious.ā
āConorās obviously put on some size,ā Brown said. āIt looks like, in his mind, he is looking to move up. I have no idea what his plans are, but maybe this is what he had his eyes set on. Obviously he has a plan, and he has his eyes set on something, and it looks like itās something at welterweight, and it might be Jorge. Jorge I think is one of the absolute biggest draws in the sport and one of the most exciting guys in the sport, so it would make a lot of sense.ā
Burns via dominant decision or late fight submission
Welp, thatās another loss for Masvidal after that phat new UFC contract! Dana having buyers remorse.