Tag: Gilbert Burns

Leon Edwards Laughs Off “Ugly Bast*rd” Burns For Fake Callouts

UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards has slammed former title challenger Gilbert Burns. According to the 30-year-old, “Durinho” pretends he’s willing to fight on social media. Beyond Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington’s blockbuster upcoming rematch at UFC 268, the 170-pound title picture has appeared unclear. While many believe Edwards has done enough to deserve a title […]

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UFC welterweight contender Leon Edwards has slammed former title challenger Gilbert Burns. According to the 30-year-old, “Durinho” pretends he’s willing to fight on social media.

Beyond Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington’s blockbuster upcoming rematch at UFC 268, the 170-pound title picture has appeared unclear. While many believe Edwards has done enough to deserve a title shot, and perhaps should have jumped “Chaos” in the queue, UFC President Dana White encouraged the Englishman to remain active if he wants to secure a championship opportunity.

After initially appearing willing to wait, “Rocky” has now put pen to paper for a fight over two years in the making. He’ll face arch-rival Jorge Masvidal at UFC 269 on December 11. Their feud began backstage at a UFC London event in 2019. After being interrupted by Edwards during a post-fight interview with Laura Sanko, “Gamebred” bust the #3-ranked contender open with the infamous “three piece and a soda” combination. Edwards will finally have the chance to exact his revenge at the final pay-per-view of the year.

Prior to the fight confirmation, Edwards and Masvidal had been embroiled in a three-way interview and social media feud with Burns. “Durinho,” who failed to capture gold at UFC 258 earlier this year, bounced back from his loss against Usman with a dominant win over Stephen Thompson in July. He appeared keen to secure a second crack at dethroning “The Nigerian Nightmare” by facing Edwards.

After becoming frustrated by the Jamaican-born Englishman’s lack of response, the Brazilian turned his attention to Masvidal. Not long after, the Miami native called for a clash with either Edwards or Burns. After a period of callouts galore, it’s Burns who remains opponent-less.

During a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, Edwards suggested the current scenario is most likely what the 35-year-old had hoped for. According to him, the “ugly bastard” made fake callouts and didn’t actually want to face him inside the Octagon.

“He’s an ugly bastard, that’s what I wanna say to him. Literally, Ariel, everything he posts on social media, he’s talking shit. He put his name out like, ‘I’ll fight anyone,’ but really he won’t. He’s doing it just to keep his name relevant.”

Edwards added that while the other contenders in the division have been reluctant to fight, he’s the only one who’s taking risks against low-ranked and unranked opposition.

“I’m the only one that’s taking all these risks. Khamzat [Chimaev], Masvidal, Diaz; I’m the only one who’s fighting and taking on all these lower-ranked guys… It is what it is. I keep doing my thing, keep making my move, keep making my money, and eventually I’ll be the world champion, so it’s all good.”

With the volatile nature of social media, “Rocky” believes his best strategy is to avoid the noise and focus on his own quest for UFC gold.

“The MMA world is mad. I’m coming to realize that these people are crazy. I can’t listen to it, you know, just keep doing my thing and like I said, stay focused on the task at hand. You can’t pay too much attention to it otherwise it’ll drive you mad. Some of the shit I see on social media I’m like, ‘ah mate, what’s going on?’

“Like I said, everyone out there, they’re tweeting, they’re talking shit, but I’m the only one who’s making these moves. I’m the only one that’s putting it all on the line. I’m taking a back step, fighting #6 in the world, to then fight for the title. So it’s all good. Let them talk.”

While Burns initially took issue with host Helwani in the aftermath of Edwards’ appearance on The MMA Hour, it would appear the Englishman’s sentiment about the Brazilian’s social media antics was heard. “Durinho” recently took to Twitter to suggest he was finished with calling people out on the platform, and won’t be “talking crap” anymore.

With Edwards and Masvidal set to collide in December, and the seemingly reformed Burns abandoning his previous social media tactics, it looks like the welterweight callout saga has come to an end. With that said, hopefully one man will emerge as the next number one contender for either Kamaru Usman or Colby Covington following UFC 268.

How do you think a fight between Leon Edwards and Gilbert Burns would play out?

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Gilbert Burns Offers To Step In On Short Notice To Face Strickland

Gilbert Burns is looking for an opportunity to step into a bout on short notice. On Monday, Luke Rockhold announced that he was forced to pull out of his main card fight with Sean Strickland following injury. It took no time for other fighters to volunteer to step in, one of those being Gilbert Burns. […]

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Gilbert Burns is looking for an opportunity to step into a bout on short notice.

On Monday, Luke Rockhold announced that he was forced to pull out of his main card fight with Sean Strickland following injury. It took no time for other fighters to volunteer to step in, one of those being Gilbert Burns.

Burns has been actively looking for a fight with one of the top welterweights. He has been pursuing Jorge Masvidal, Leon Edwards, and Nate Diaz in recent weeks. Now that Masvidal and Edwards have linked up together and Diaz is rumored to be facing Vicente Luque, that leaves Burns on the outside looking in.

With no luck among the top five in his division, Burns has decided to try a last-minute fill-in in the weight class up, He took to Twitter to make his request.

“Middle weight Nov 06? Sign me in I fight Strickland and I meant it,” Burns wrote on Twitter.

Luke Rockhold was making his return against Strickland after being retired from the sport for two years. With this injury, his return will be pushed back. Although fighters have been seeking to replace him, there is no word yet if someone will. Strickland could choose to wait for Rockhold to be ready.

Strickland was coming into this matchup having won five in a row. He is currently sitting in the number seven spot of the official UFC middleweight rankings.

Would you like to see Gilbert Burns step in and face Sean Strickland at UFC 268 in New York City?

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Gilbert Burns Thinks Leon Edwards Is a ‘Coward’ For Ducking Masvidal

Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal have been calling out Leon Edwards but Burns thinks Edwards is ducking them both. The welterweight title contention picture seems to be crowded these days. Champion Kamaru Usman has his next date set already when he faces Colby Covington on November 6. Past that day things can get a little […]

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Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal have been calling out Leon Edwards but Burns thinks Edwards is ducking them both.

The welterweight title contention picture seems to be crowded these days. Champion Kamaru Usman has his next date set already when he faces Colby Covington on November 6. Past that day things can get a little messy. No matter who wins in New York on Nov. 6, there could be three possible men waiting in the wings.

Jorge Masvidal, Gilbert Burns, and Leon Edwards are all sitting in the top six of the division and could easily step into a title shot. Edwards may be the next logical choice so he is opting to wait for his turn. However, he has been called out by both Burns and Masvidal. Burns seems to be moving past the option but thinks Edwards shouldn’t be running from Masvidal.

“I think, stylistically, it’s a good fight for Leon Edwards,” Burns said to Brett Okamoto from ESPN. “And bro, the guy hit you with three-piece and a soda. And you’ve been asking for this fight for years. Now the guy says yes, you say no? Man, that guy’s a freakin’ coward.”

Masvidal and Edwards have some history. They met behind the scenes at a UFC event in London and exchanged some words and a few blows. Despite the feud, Edwards has reportedly turned down offers to fight Masvidal. According to Burns, this makes Edwards a coward. Burns had some further thoughts on this subject.

“In Brazil, if I tell my friends, my coach, and my guys in Brazil, ‘Man, that guy beat me on the street and they run, they break out the fight.’” Burns said. “Now they offer the fight and I say no? Bro, they’re gonna bully me”

Do you agree with Gilbert Burn’s opinion of Leon Edwards?

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Gilbert Burns Slams ‘Coward’ Edwards For Avoiding Masvidal

Gilbert BurnsWhen Gilbert Burns was interviewed by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto this week, he made it clear that he thinks his fellow welterweight contender Leon Edwards is a “coward” for not taking the Jorge Masvidal fight, especially after being hit backstage at an event a few years ago. Masvidal recently revealed that he’s “moving on” from pursuing […]

Gilbert Burns

When Gilbert Burns was interviewed by ESPN’s Brett Okamoto this week, he made it clear that he thinks his fellow welterweight contender Leon Edwards is a “coward” for not taking the Jorge Masvidal fight, especially after being hit backstage at an event a few years ago.

Masvidal recently revealed that he’s “moving on” from pursuing a bout with Edwards after the British fighter had turned down several offers to fight him. According to Burns, that was a cowardly move on Edwards’ part given their history. Burns said during the interview,

“I think stylistically (Masvidal) is a good fight for Leon Edwards. Bro, the guy hit you with a three-piece and a soda, and you’ve been asking for this fight for years. Now, the guy says yes, and you say no? Man, that guy’s a freaking coward.”

Here is the ESPN interview in full:

While many might agree with Burns’ disdain for Edwards at the moment, someone that knows a thing or two about title shots thinks otherwise. Daniel Cormier explained on his YouTube show DC & RC that Edwards should wait for a title shot, much like Burns and Masvidal did not so long ago.

“Why in the world should Leon Edwards now wanna look back to you guys?” said Cormier. “And I’m saying ‘you guys’ because Gilbert Burns, too. Gilbert Burns is guilty of this. (Masvidal and Burns) did not want to talk about Leon Edwards at all when they were the ones on the shortlist of a championship fight. Now, Leon is in that position and they wanna call him out. No, Leon. ‘Rocky’ ,get the title shot that you so justly deserve. Don’t waste your time.” (Transcribed by Sportskeeda)

Meanwhile, Edwards is adamant about waiting for his shot and fighting the winner of next month’s title fight between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.

While both sides make some sense to them, it’s hard to disagree with the amount of money and attention Edwards could get in a fight against Masvidal that favors him stylistically.

Do you agree with Gilbert Burns? Is Leon Edwards being a coward by refusing to fight Jorge Masvidal?

Leon Edwards Doesn’t See The Point In Fighting Gilbert Burns

While speaking on The MMA Hour, Leon Edwards shut down the idea of fighting fellow welterweight contender Gilbert Burns.  Recently, Edwards has been back and forth on who is next for him. But when the topic of Gilbert Burns came up, Edwards was quick to close the door on a potential matchup.  “Gilbert does nothing […]

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While speaking on The MMA Hour, Leon Edwards shut down the idea of fighting fellow welterweight contender Gilbert Burns. 

Recently, Edwards has been back and forth on who is next for him. But when the topic of Gilbert Burns came up, Edwards was quick to close the door on a potential matchup. 

“Gilbert does nothing for my career or nothing for me at this point,” Edwards scoffed. “Like I said, he just got knocked out, cried like a baby in the Octagon, and then went and humped Wonderboy for three rounds. So nah.”

Leon Edwards Belal Muhammad
Leon Edwards faces off against Belal Muhammed ahead of their main event fight. (via MMAJunkie)

The Englishman has been a top contender for years now, but the universe continues to conspire against him. Edwards was on a tear until COVID-19 protocols canceled the U.K. event that “Rocky” was set to headline in 2020. Stuck in a COVID-induced limbo, Edwards was then booked to face Khamzat Chimaev on three different occasions. None of those bouts would come to fruition due to the pandemic.

After the layoff, Edwards made his way back only to have an accidental eye-poke leave his short-notice opponent, Belal Muhammed, unable to continue. At UFC 263, Edwards beat up Nate Diaz for the better part of five rounds, even if some fans only recall the final minute. 

Burns’ wrestling-heavy victory over Stephen Thompson at UFC 264 may have caught some flack, but it proves that Burns is still a problem for the top five. 

While it makes sense for Burns to call out other top contenders en route to another title fight, Ariel Helwani actually admonished Burns for the move in a recent segment on his show. 

Should Leon Edwards take a fight against another contender or wait for a title shot?

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Helwani Says Burns Challenging Edwards Shows Lack Of Fighter Unity

Ariel Helwani is going to bat for Leon Edwards, even if that means taking some swings at other welterweights in the process. UFC welterweight Leon Edwards going unbeaten in his last 10 fights has been well documented. Unfortunately for the Englishman, however, this impressive streak has been overshadowed by the fact that no title shot […]

Continue Reading Helwani Says Burns Challenging Edwards Shows Lack Of Fighter Unity at MMA News.

Ariel Helwani is going to bat for Leon Edwards, even if that means taking some swings at other welterweights in the process.

UFC welterweight Leon Edwards going unbeaten in his last 10 fights has been well documented. Unfortunately for the Englishman, however, this impressive streak has been overshadowed by the fact that no title shot has come from it. Edwards has experienced great frustration from the entire ordeal, but he is not without his advocates. Perhaps the most vocal and notable of whom being renowned MMA reporter Ariel Helwani.

Last year, Edwards was slated to face Tyron Woodley in a UFC on ESPN Fight Night headliner. The belief was that with a win, Edwards would solidify himself as being next in line for a title shot. Unfortunately, due to traveling restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Edwards was unable to make it to the United States in time, so he was replaced with Gilbert Burns instead.

UFC Fight Night - Who's next for Gilbert Burns, Tyron Woodley and Mackenzie Dern?
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

After Burns dominated Woodley, he became the new top contender to challenge welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman. Helwani was one of the few who went against the grain and suggested Burns fight Edwards in a title-eliminator bout instead. Eventually, Burns would receive the shot against Usman at UFC 258 earlier this year but fell to the champion via TKO.

Since the loss, Burns has been trying to work his way back to a title fight. He began this process with a victory over Stephen Thompson at UFC 264. After this most recent showing, one of the names he has called out persistently is Leon Edwards. Speaking on his program The MMA Hour, Helwani argued that Burns’s push to fight Edwards is a testament to a lack of fighter unity in the sport and then proceeded to lay down a rant about why specifically the callout irks him so.

“My thing is, alright, he got the title shot. You got your opportunity. Why are you trying to take another man’s opportunity away?” Helwani said of Burns. “Now, he’s going out and saying, ‘You should fight me. You should fight me. You should fight me.’ A year ago, he wanted nothing to do with you…

“Man, you got your title shot. You got your chance. You got your opportunity to realize your dream. Go bother someone else! Like, why are you trying to take away this man’s title shot who has done it the right way, who has put his head down, who has put his hard hat on, who has been screwed up by the politics of the game, all this stuff? leave him alone!

“Go fight Vicente Luque or someone like that. That’s the part that really grinds my gears here. There should be some kind of bond between the fighters. Yo, man, you just fought for the belt. Don’t take another man’s opportunity away. Don’t take money off his table, food off of his plate when you just fought for the belt.”

Gilbert Burns has also called out Nate Diaz for his next fight, but Diaz has expressed more interest in facing the aforementioned Vicente Luque. Meanwhile, Leon Edwards remains unbooked at the moment but stated in his appearance on The MMA Hour that he would be interested in finally facing Jorge Masvidal as long as the fight happens before the end of the year. Any time after that and “Rocky” would much rather wait for a title shot instead.

Do you agree with Ariel Helwani’s rant about Gilbert Burns calling out Leon Edwards?

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