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Gilbert Burns has done enough since returning to the UFC’s welterweight division to earn his shot at gold, but the Brazilian will have to take a backseat to Jorge Masvidal tomorrow night (Sat., July 11, 2020) at UFC 251 after testing positive for COVID-19 last weekend. “Durinho” was expected to fight UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in the main event.
While Burns is doing well and expected to make a full recovery from coronavirus the streaking contender now has to sit back and watch another fighter take his title shot. The entire situation was out of Burns’ control but that doesn’t make things easier to deal with.
As “Durinho” sits at home in quarantine and watches UFC 251 from the comfort of his own couch he isn’t going to be expecting much at all from the new main event pairing. In fact, Burns believes that Usman vs. Masvidal is going to be “boring” for fight fans everywhere. Masvidal’s recent track record tells a different tale, but fight fans still have no idea what to expect this weekend on “Fight island.”
“I see Kamaru dominating, that’s what I see,” said Burns during a recent interview with TMZ Sports. “I think a lot of people get a big expectation in this matchup, but it can only go two ways, or Masvidal can catch him and knock him out inside two rounds. But the way I see the fight going is Kamaru dominating.
“Even a boring fight, I’d say, Kamaru takes him down and smashes him on the cage. I don’t want that as a fan, but I believe it’s gonna be a boring fight, Kamaru controlling every aspect of the fight.”
Boring or not, Usman vs. Masvidal is one of the biggest fights of 2020. According to Dana White, it is already trending on par with Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor, which ended up producing a UFC record 2.4 million PPV buys back in 2018.
Luckily for Burns, White has already confirmed that he’s next in line to fight the winner of Usman vs. Masvidal. Whenever that fight happens, presumably in the fall, Burns will have his chance to prove he’s one of the most exciting names in the division and worthy of a championship belt.
Until then, fans will watch closely as Usman and Masvidal battle it out for the 170-pound title in what is shaping up to be the biggest fight card of the year.
What do you think, fight fans? Does Usman vs. Masvidal have a chance of being boring?
Let’s hear it!
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 251 fight card this weekend RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+“Prelims” that are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the ESPN portion at 8 p.m. before the PPV main card start time on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET.
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