Gilbert Burns Preparing For An ‘Intense Five-Round War’ Against Teammate Kamaru Usman

Gilbert Burns knows Kamaru Usman will be his toughest fight to date since moving up to welterweight. Burns made the move to 170-pounds last year where he beat Alexey Kunchenko and Gunnar Nelson on short notice. He then knocked out Demian Maia in March …

Gilbert Burns knows Kamaru Usman will be his toughest fight to date since moving up to welterweight. Burns made the move to 170-pounds last year where he beat Alexey Kunchenko and Gunnar Nelson on short notice. He then knocked out Demian Maia in March and followed it up with a dominating performance over Tyron Woodley […]

The post Gilbert Burns Preparing For An ‘Intense Five-Round War’ Against Teammate Kamaru Usman appeared first on MMA News.

Kamaru Usman Changes Gyms Ahead Of Fight Against Gilbert Burns

Kamaru UsmanUFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has decided to move gyms ahead of his upcoming fight against Gilbert Burns. Both Usman and Burns had been under the tutelage of Henri Hooft at Sanford MMA. The pair will now clash in the UFC 251 main event and Usman has decided it’s best he prepares for the fight […]

Kamaru Usman

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has decided to move gyms ahead of his upcoming fight against Gilbert Burns. Both Usman and Burns had been under the tutelage of Henri Hooft at Sanford MMA. The pair will now clash in the UFC 251 main event and Usman has decided it’s best he prepares for the fight with a new team.

Speaking to ESPN the welterweight king explained why he has decided to head to Denver and train under Trevor Wittman and work with the likes of Justin Gaethje and Drew Dober, he said.

“Florida was the base for a long time, but you grow from there. We always had a ton of guys, some of the best training partners out there and some great coaches.

“But I wanted a little more specific attention at this point in my career, someone to be able to say, ‘You’re going to come in at this time and work on this particular skill.’ It’s very tough to do that when there are 40 to 50 guys in the room with you who also need to get attention.”

“I think eventually I would have changed things up anyway,” Usman said. “We had a lot of welterweights at that gym. At some point, when you’re training with these guys on a daily basis and you’re the champion of the world, these guys know you in and out and if they get the better of you one day, they’re licking their chops thinking it’s their time. A little separation from that is good. It keeps that element of surprise, because these guys feel like they know you.

“One thing I firmly believe is that it’s my work. You can be with a great coach, but if you’re not putting the effort in, that coach isn’t going to help you win. That coach isn’t going to get in and fight for you. I know I put the work in.”

Do you think Kamaru Usman has made the right call in changing teams?

Gilbert Burns Calls For Conor McGregor To Be Removed From UFC Rankings

Burns McGregorMcGregor Still Remains In Lightweight Ranks Gilbert Burns believes Conor McGregor should be off the UFC rankings. McGregor recently announced his retirement earlier this month following the conclusion of the UFC 250 pay-per-view. Although it was his third retirement in the space of four years with many observers being skeptical about the claim, it does […]

Burns McGregor

McGregor Still Remains In Lightweight Ranks

Gilbert Burns believes Conor McGregor should be off the UFC rankings.

McGregor recently announced his retirement earlier this month following the conclusion of the UFC 250 pay-per-view. Although it was his third retirement in the space of four years with many observers being skeptical about the claim, it does appear to be genuine at least for the time being.

Another prominent fighter who announced he would be retiring was Henry Cejudo following his bantamweight title defense over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 last month. Like McGregor, many were skeptical about Cejudo’s retirement and felt it was a negotiation tactic.

However, to the surprise of many, Cejudo was removed from the UFC rankings a couple of days later with the bantamweight title also being made vacant. “Triple C” would officially confirm his retirement soon after.

With McGregor, it’s been over two weeks since his supposed retirement claim and yet, he remains in the top five of the lightweight rankings — something Burns made sure to point out.

“Cejudo retired they took him out of the rankings very quickly let’s do it with Connor as well! ???

While Burns was likely just defending a fellow Ali Abdelaziz client, he does bring up an interesting point.

Do you think McGregor should removed from the rankings?

Gilbert Burns Calls For Conor McGregor To Be Removed From UFC Rankings

Burns McGregorMcGregor Still Remains In Lightweight Ranks Gilbert Burns believes Conor McGregor should be off the UFC rankings. McGregor recently announced his retirement earlier this month following the conclusion of the UFC 250 pay-per-view. Although it was his third retirement in the space of four years with many observers being skeptical about the claim, it does […]

Burns McGregor

McGregor Still Remains In Lightweight Ranks

Gilbert Burns believes Conor McGregor should be off the UFC rankings.

McGregor recently announced his retirement earlier this month following the conclusion of the UFC 250 pay-per-view. Although it was his third retirement in the space of four years with many observers being skeptical about the claim, it does appear to be genuine at least for the time being.

Another prominent fighter who announced he would be retiring was Henry Cejudo following his bantamweight title defense over Dominick Cruz at UFC 249 last month. Like McGregor, many were skeptical about Cejudo’s retirement and felt it was a negotiation tactic.

However, to the surprise of many, Cejudo was removed from the UFC rankings a couple of days later with the bantamweight title also being made vacant. “Triple C” would officially confirm his retirement soon after.

With McGregor, it’s been over two weeks since his supposed retirement claim and yet, he remains in the top five of the lightweight rankings — something Burns made sure to point out.

“Cejudo retired they took him out of the rankings very quickly let’s do it with Connor as well! ???

While Burns was likely just defending a fellow Ali Abdelaziz client, he does bring up an interesting point.

Do you think McGregor should removed from the rankings?

Gilbert Burns Responds To Nate Diaz’s UFC 251 Rant

Gilbert Burns wasn’t interested in being silent following Nate Diaz’s remarks. Burns is set to meet UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on July 11. The bout will headline UFC 251 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. This will be the first UFC tit…

Gilbert Burns wasn’t interested in being silent following Nate Diaz’s remarks. Burns is set to meet UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman on July 11. The bout will headline UFC 251 on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. This will be the first UFC title opportunity for Burns, who is riding a six-fight winning streak. Burns Hits […]

The post Gilbert Burns Responds To Nate Diaz’s UFC 251 Rant appeared first on MMA News.

Gilbert Burns Talks Kamaru Usman Title Fight: ‘All Of Our Training Sessions Are Wars’

Kamaru UsmanGilbert Burns is expecting a war against Kamaru Usman. On Tuesday, it was announced that Burns would be next in line to challenge Usman for the welterweight title as they will headline UFC 251 taking place July 11 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Burns and Usman, of course, are notably teammates at Sanford MMA […]

Kamaru Usman

Gilbert Burns is expecting a war against Kamaru Usman.

On Tuesday, it was announced that Burns would be next in line to challenge Usman for the welterweight title as they will headline UFC 251 taking place July 11 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

Burns and Usman, of course, are notably teammates at Sanford MMA under head coach Henri Hooft.

And although things are a bit awkward, especially as they share many of the same coaches, there are no hard feelings between the pair according to Burns. At least for now.

“It’s awkward. I just ran into him right now in training,” Burns told The Athletic. “He told me the same thing I said to him. He said, “Hey, I love you too, bro. Whatever happens, happens, you know. He said, “I love you too, bro. I know you have your family, I respect you, whatever happens, happens, nothing will change. Let’s leave it all up there.” I said, “You got it.” But, as of now, there’s nothing certain, so it was even a conversation — we say that stuff, and then don’t fight, you know? Then it’s an awkward thing (laughs).”

Burns: Usman Has More Tools Than Woodley

Burns became next in line following his impressive unanimous decision win over Tyron Woodley earlier this month at UFC Vegas. It put him on a four-fight winning streak ever since he made the move back up to 170 in August last year.

While he regarded the former champion as a monster, “Durinho” believes Usman will be an even tougher task not only because of his skillset, but also considering how their training sessions together have always been wars.

“He’s extremely tough. It will be a war,” Burns said. “All of our training sessions are wars. There’s none of that, “I won in training, he won in training.” Sure, but it’s war. I’ve never had easy training with him. He’s very skilled. He’s been improving a lot on the feet. He does the same system I do, which is Henry’s. He never lost his wrestling, he’s always trained wrestling a lot. He trains jiu-jitsu. He’s extremely strong. Has a good gas tank. Man — it will be a war.

“In my mind, that’s another monster. I had Woodley very much like a monster. When I fight, I like to be prepared for a monster. And it ended up that, after the third, fourth round — (Woodley) is still dangerous with that hand, but I didn’t feel that strength on the clinch, I didn’t feel danger with the kicks, it was mostly about being aware of his right hand. But I know Kamaru has a lot more stamina and a lot more tools. It’s an entirely different fight. Kamaru won’t have that rock in his right hand, but he will also hit hard. If he lands in the right spot, he can have me sitting down, too. I will have to be prepared for war.”

If Burns does go on to win the welterweight title against Usman, it would be one heck of a past 12 months for the Brazilian.

How do you see Usman vs. Burns playing out?