In a week’s time, former title challenger Gilbert Burns will fight Sean Brady in a five-round bout. Ahead of the fight, ‘Durinho’ has already set his eyes on a bigger matchup. So far, Burns has struggled to climb back up to a title shot. A win over Brady could put the BJJ specialist on the path to gold. As such, defeating #1 ranked Kamaru Usman in the near future can help him get the title shot.
Gilbert Burns recently sat down for a conversation with Michael Bisping on the Believe You Me podcast. During their discussion, Bisping asked if the rumors were true that he would call out Ian Garry if he beat Sean Brady this September. ‘Durinho’ is not against a showdown with the Irishman, but he wanted to scrap with fighters ahead of him in the rankings.
I’ll call Kamaru, I’ll call Kamaru first… For me the guys in front of me are the biggest fight. Like Leon Edwards now have no opponent, that’s a big fight. Kamaru Usman, former champion rematch, he is a good fight, and Colby Covington too… A big win over one of these three guys is a title shot.
Gilbert Burns via Believe You Me podcast
Burns’ desire for a rematch stems from his first encounter with Usman at UFC 258. This was back in 2021 when he suffered a third-round TKO loss. One must note that Burns wobbled Usman badly in the first round but couldn’t keep up the momentum. The BJJ athlete had previously reflected on that fight and admitted that he was overly emotional, which impacted his performance.
He views the potential rematch as a chance to redeem himself and re-establish his position in the UFC welterweight division for a potential title shot. Interestingly, both fighters are currently dealing with setbacks. Burns faced back-to-back losses to Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena, while Usman lost to Khamzat Chimaev after consecutive losses to Leon Edwards since 2022.
Kamaru Usman reveals not trusting himself against Khamzat Chimaev
Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman have one common opponent in Khamzat Chimaev. Interestingly, both lost to Chimaev via decision. Usman recently sat down for a conversation with John McCarthy and Josh Thompson on Weighing In podcast. The former champion reflected on his short-notice fight against Khamzat Chimaev during their discussion.
Kamaru Usman did not trust himself in fight against Khamzat Chimaev (Image via Imago)Usman stepped in with just nine days’ notice to fight Chimaev. This was a significant challenge since he had not trained as rigorously as he would have for a full-fight camp. The ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ admitted that the lack of preparation held him back in the fight.
For the first time in a long time, I didn’t trust myself and my abilities… I didn’t trust myself enough because I wasn’t training as I would be if I had a fight and I went through a camp.
Kamaru Usman via Weighing In podcast
Usman said he typically builds momentum in a fight, especially in five-round bouts. However, the three-round format against Chimaev, combined with his short preparation time, threw him off. Despite these challenges, Usman pushed through the fight, although Chimaev ultimately won by majority decision.
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