Burns hopes Chimaev grants his a request for a rematch soon.
Gilbert Burns is aiming for a rematch against Khamzat Chimaev following their ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate at UFC 273 this past Saturday.
Burns and Chimaev were involved in a slugfest for the ages that was chock-full of shining moments and near fight-ending sequences over 15 minutes. The fight went to the judges’ scorecards, and ‘Borz’ earned a unanimous decision over ‘Durinho’ in what was arguably the toughest test of his professional career thus far.
Given how much of a challenge he gave him that night, Burns has requested a rematch against Chimaev but has added a few stipulations. The Brazilian recently spoke to Aaron Bronsteter of TSN and revealed he originally wanted 25 minutes with the Chechen, but the UFC already had two championship fights as the main and co-main event. If he does get a second fight with Chimaev, then Burns wants those five rounds.
“When they offered me this fight, I asked for five rounds,” said Burns. “They sent me the contract and I fought with Ali [Abdelaziz]. I was like, ‘F—k, I don’t want these three rounds. I want five rounds.’ [Abdelaziz said] ‘Oh, but they have these two title fights.’ And I said, ‘I don’t care, make another one. I want five rounds.’ We went back and forth with the UFC and it ended up being three rounds. The fight was crazy entertaining, but I just think if it was five rounds, it would be way more entertaining.”
Though Burns has set his sights on a rematch, it appears he will have to wait for Chimaev. UFC president Dana White said that should the undefeated prospect get through the former one-time title challenger, he will pair him up against Colby Covington in an upcoming headliner on ABC for his next appearance.
A win over Covington would put Chimaev in a prime position to challenge the winner of Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards 2, which has been rumored for International Fight Week in the summer. Burns has no problem with that scenario, but hopes Chimaev will agree to a rematch after those potential fights.
“The way I see it too, is that we’re not done,” said Burns. “I don’t believe we’re not done. For sure he moves forward in the rankings and they want to make that Colby fight. But the way I see it, I’m not afraid to fight anyone in this division. Time and time again, I’ve proved it. Short notice, asking to fight at middleweight, fighting these guys…I just want one thing back from Khamzat. I want the courtesy.
“I was No. 2 and I fought No. 11,” continued Burns. “I want a rematch with Khamzat. Now that he’s moving forward, we’ll see. If he beats Colby, he’s going to fight Kamaru and I just want my rematch in the next three fights. In his next three fights, I want my rematch. I believe we’re not done. I believe we gotta go more rounds and one guy needs to get the finish. It’s just that thing that those couple fights should be five rounds. You know those fights that [you say], ‘Man, it should’ve been more rounds in there’. I think we kind of missed out a little bit on this fight.”
Chimaev has since responded to Burns and sent a grave warning to his previous opponent.
“In 5 rounds, I will take your soul,” wrote Chimaev on Instagram. “See you soon boy.”