Belal Muhammad is not impressed by Gilbert Burns’ performance at UFC 283 this past weekend (Jan. 21, 2023).
“Durinho” successfully got back in the win column in his home of Brazil, slicing through the promotion’s all-time winningest Welterweight, Neil Magny. Burns managed to force the tap of “The Haitian Sensation” 45 seconds before the opening round’s close with an arm-triangle choke (watch highlights).
After the fight, Burns called out former interim titleholder, Colby Covington, and claimed he was ducked by the aforementioned No. 4-ranked contender, Muhammad. “Remember The Name” just doesn’t see the logic behind a Burns match up at present.
“I just beat No. 5 ‘Wonderboy,’ I just beat No. 5 Luque, and I had to fight them back to back,” Muhammad said in a video tweet. “So then I’m looking at No. 4, Gilbert. Should be the next step, but I got ducked. So then I had to go downwards, No. 7, Sean Brady. Beat him. Because I was ducked.
“I’m glad the smart world would understand that Sean Brady is just a white version of Gilbert without the fro. So why would I duck him?” he continued. “I appreciate you guys, rankers, I appreciate you guys. You guys are smart. Congratulations on beating No. 14, Neil Magny, who would probably lose to Jake Paul. Congrats, man. Congrats.”
Muhammad has made it clear that he’s only looking to fight upward after going undefeated in his last nine outings. Therefore, his sights are set on the winner of the Leon Edwards versus Kamaru Usman trilogy, or Khamzat Chimaev.
Coincidentally, Burns’ fight before Magny was the 2022 epic with Chimaev that saw him on the wrong end of a unanimous decision (watch highlights).