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Stephen Thompson: Gilbert Burns Is Kamaru Usman’s Toughest Matchup Yet

Stephen Thompson believes Gilbert Burns will be Kamaru Usman’s toughest fight yet. Burns is set to finally collide with Usman for the welterweight title when they headline the upcoming UFC 258 pay-per-view event taking place February 13 in Las Vegas. It will be a clash of former teammates as well but even casting that aside, […]

Stephen Thompson believes Gilbert Burns will be Kamaru Usman’s toughest fight yet.

Burns is set to finally collide with Usman for the welterweight title when they headline the upcoming UFC 258 pay-per-view event taking place February 13 in Las Vegas.

It will be a clash of former teammates as well but even casting that aside, Thompson believes Burns has all the tools to be Usman’s toughest matchup so far.

That said, he still believes Usman’s wrestling will play a role.

“I think this is going to be Kamaru Usman’s toughest fight for sure,” Thompson told the “Weighing In” podcast (via MMA Junkie). “I mean (Burns has) got the ground, he’s a high-level jiu-jitsu practitioner, he’s got good striking, he’s been knocking dudes out. So I think he’s the better well-rounded fighter he’s faced, even Colby Covington. But Usman, on top of that, he’s an intelligent fighter. He’s got pressure and cardio for days. He’s got a gas tank like no other, but I do believe he can outwrestle Burns.

“I think he could wrestle him and neutralize his jiu-jitsu. His top game is really, really good, especially up against the fence. If he can get him pinned up against the fence where he’s able to control his opponent’s hips, I think he’s got it. But the thing is, getting in there. Burns’ striking is fast. That dude’s explosive. He may not have the reach Kamaru does, but he’s explosive and you saw it against Tyron Woodley. He knocked him down, something I wasn’t able to do.”

Despite the praise for Burns — who has been on one heck of a run since moving up to welterweight from lightweight — Thompson ultimately sees Usman coming out on top to earn his third title defense.

“I believe Kamaru Usman could do it,” Thompson added. “I like Kamaru Usman, I think he’s a great champ. I think he holds the title very well. I’m going for Usman, man. I think Usman’s got it.”

Perhaps one more win could see “Wonderboy” himself get the next crack at the title.

Who do you have winning between Usman and Burns?

Gilbert Burns Eager To Fight Khamzat Chimaev In The Near Future

Unlike others in the division, Gilbert Burns is excited about the prospect of facing Khamzat Chimaev. Burns is set to challenge Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title in the UFC 258 headliner which takes place February 13 in Las Vegas. Should he get the victory and become the new welterweight champion, he could end up […]

Unlike others in the division, Gilbert Burns is excited about the prospect of facing Khamzat Chimaev.

Burns is set to challenge Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title in the UFC 258 headliner which takes place February 13 in Las Vegas.

Should he get the victory and become the new welterweight champion, he could end up facing Chimaev next. That’s because the red-hot Chimaev is set to take on Leon Edwards on March 13 with many observers expecting him to get a title shot if he wins.

Of course, it took Chimaev quite a while to land a ranked contender in Edwards as the latter himself didn’t want to face an unranked opponent until he was pressured by the UFC. Other contenders like Stephen Thompson also had no interest in facing the unranked Chimaev.

However, Burns is eager to test himself against the undefeated prospect — regardless if he is ranked or not.

“Khamzat, I think I match up very good. I cannot wait to fight Chimaev,” Burns said on the TSN MMA Show (via MMA News). “He’s one of the guys that I really want to fight.

“I want to grapple, I want to scramble with him, I want to see his wrestling, how high level he is. I want to grapple with him. I want to scramble. I want to strike with him.”

Both fighters are managed by Ali Abdelaziz so it’s definitely possible that Burns is just bigging up a fellow client. However, the Brazilian has also shown that he is eager to face anyone, anytime so it would make sense that he is eager to face Chimaev whose stock is undoubtedly high within the sport.

Perhaps the stars will align and we will get to see that fight later this year.

Who do you have winning between Burns and Chimaev?

Gilbert Burns: I Cannot Wait to Fight Khamzat Chimaev

If Gilbert Burns was not next up for a title shot, it appears he would not have hesitated to be Khamzat Chimaev’s first ranked opponent. Prior to Khamzat Chimaev being booked against Leon Edwards, it appeared the UFC was having a hard time finding him …

Gilbert Burns Makes Bold Prediction Ahead of UFC 258 Clash With Usman

Gilbert Burns’s confidence is in a right place heading into his UFC 258 clash against welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. Teammates will collide at UFC 258 when Kamaru Usman defends his UFC welterweight championship against Gilbert Burns in the main ev…

VIDEO | UFC 258: Usman vs. Burns – ‘Former Teammates Go To War’

Check out the UFC 258 promotional video that has just dropped. The welterweight title match-up is just weeks away and it appears the UFC are keen to get fans hyped about the fight in which will see former teammates Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns duke it out. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has enjoyed a dominant reign […]

Check out the UFC 258 promotional video that has just dropped.

The welterweight title match-up is just weeks away and it appears the UFC are keen to get fans hyped about the fight in which will see former teammates Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns duke it out.

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ has enjoyed a dominant reign at 170lb king since dethroning Tyron Woodley in 2019. Usman stopped Colby Covington in his first defence before making easy work of Jorge Masvidal last time out.

Burns burst onto the welterweight scene last year when he knocked out BJJ legend Demian Maia. He capitalized on that win by beating former champion Tyron Woodley over five rounds. It was only bad luck that stopped Burns from getting his well-earned title shot in 2020. The Brazilian tested positive for COVID-19 just days before he was supposed to compete for the belt at UFC 251.

UFC 258 Fight card

Kamaru Usman vs. Gilbert Burns

Chris Weidman vs. Uriah Hall

Maycee Barber vs. Alexa Grasso

Kelvin Gastelum vs. Ian Heinisch

Pedro Munhoz vs. Jimmie Rivera

Polyana Viana vs. Mallory Martin

Julian Marquez vs. Maki Pitolo

Gillian Robertson vs. Miranda Maverick

Who do you think will win at UFC 258? Kamaru Usman or Gilbert Burns?

Gilbert Burns: I’ve Sparred Over 200 Rounds With Kamaru Usman

The main event at UFC 258 will not be the first time Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman see each other in a combative nature. In fact, they have spent significant cage time together according to Burns in a new interview with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. (H/T MMA Junkie) “Me and Kamaru had over 200 […]

The main event at UFC 258 will not be the first time Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman see each other in a combative nature.

In fact, they have spent significant cage time together according to Burns in a new interview with Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie. (H/T MMA Junkie)

“Me and Kamaru had over 200 rounds sparring, at least,” Burns said. “We started training together in 2012 in Blackzillians. Then Blackzillians broke down, they disappeared, so we moved with Henri Hooft. We went to a place called Combat Club. Then we were there for almost a year, and then we opened up the Hard Knocks. We were at Hard Knocks for two years. Then we moved to Sanford MMA and then we been in Sanford for a total of two years. So I’ve trained with Kamaru for seven years and we both love to train.”

“He was a good training partner for me and I was good partner for him. Just sparring sessions, over 200. And just the grappling sessions, plus the wrestling sessions, for sure I have so many hours on the mat with Kamaru. We know each other very well.”

This match up has been one that we all have been waiting for a while to see.

The fight was originally going to take place in July of 2020, but Burns contracted COVID-19 so the bout got pushed back.

It was then scheduled to be the headliner at UFC 256 in December, but Usman had to pull out due to an injury.

Burns has been on a hot streak ever since making the move up to welterweight. He is 4-0 at that weight and put on one of the best performances of his career in his last fight against former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley.

Usman’s last fight was a unanimous decision win over Jorge Masvidal in July to preserve his perfect record inside the UFC.

Unlike some of their previous fights, there seems to be a good amount of respect coming into this one.

“I have so much respect for Kamaru,” Burns said. “I like him a lot and it’s going to be a competition. No bad blood, nothing. I have nothing against him. He’s been a great champion, a good teammate. We were never close friends, we never texted each other or anything, it was always about fighting.”

Who wins at UFC 258? Gilbert Burns or Kamaru Usman?