Popular welterweight contender Gilbert Burns claims he has now signed a bout agreement to fight the former champion, Tyron Woodley, on May 30. The fight has been long talked about and it now appears to be (almost) official.
Speaking on Twitter the Brazilian submission specialist confirmed he had signed his portion of the fight contract ahead of May 30, he wrote. “Bout agreement is signed! May 30th! Let’s go @ufc.”
Since March rumours have been swirling about a potential fight between the 170lb title chasers. They were supposed to meet on May 23 but the UFC has since pushed back that card until May 30 in the hope it will be able to take place at the UFC Apex Facility in Las Vegas pending clearance by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Burns is riding a three-fight win steak since moving up from lightweight to welterweight. The 33-year-old has picked up impressive wins over Alexey Kunchenko and Gunnar Nelson, as well as stopping Demian Maia in the biggest fight of his career at UFC Brasilia earlier this year.
Woodley, on the other hand, will be fighting for the first time since losing his welterweight title to Kamaru Usman in March 2019. ‘The Chosen One’ dropped a unanimous decision verdict at UFC 235 after holding the belt for several years. Woodley beat the likes of Darren Till, Stephen Thompson and Maia during his impressive reign as champion. He is now hoping to get back into title contention and it appears beating Burns is the first step to do that. However, right now, it remains unclear if Woodley has signed his bout agreement to make this fight official for May 30.
Who wins when Gilbert Burns and Tyron Woodley finally square off?