Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Gilbert Burns will look to capitalize the biggest opportunity of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, as he intends to shock the world by upsetting current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman, at UFC 251 on July 11 on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
“Durinho” got the unexpected call up to face his now-former training partner after Jorge Masvidal failed to come to a financial agreement with the promotion to sign on the dotted line for the “Nigerian Nightmare” matchup.
But Burns has more than made his own case for a shot at the strap, winning six in a row in the highly-competitive 170-pound weight class. One of his most impressive wins during that span was his dominant one-sided win over former division kingpin, Tyron Woodley. In fact, it was the Brazilian bomber’s most recent win, as the bout took place at UFC on ESPN 9 a little over a month ago.
From the jump, Burns meant business, taking it to the champ and never letting his foot off the gas pedal, knocking down “The Chosen One” early in round one. The rest of the fight didn’t go too well for Woodley, either, as Burns kept the pressure on at all times, smothering the former 170-pound champion for the entire five-round fight to score a clear-cut unanimous decision win.
The loss marked Woodley’s second in a row, sending him spiraling further down the ladder while boosting Gilbert’s stock way up. A win over Usman would definitely shake up the order at 170 pounds, and not only give “Durinho” his biggest win to date, but his first-ever world title and a big fat payday…we think.
To see the full UFC 251: “Usman vs Burns” fight card click here.