Gilbert Burns Steps Forward to Welcome Islam Makhachev in “Crazy” UFC Fight at Welterweight: “I Love to Have This”

The Octagon was on fire at UFC 284, where two superpowers fought against each other. The UFC community was mind-blown after watching one of the closest fights in the promotion’s history between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski. The two gave each other a tough time, which indeed led the audience to the edge of their seats. However, when the fight went for a decision, some thought that Volkanovski was the winner while others sided with Makhachev. When the decision was made in favor of Makhachev, there was a huge uproar from the fans and the fellow fighters.

Nonetheless, no one can deny the fact that Makhachev has all the wrestling skills a fighter needs to possess. Furthermore, the lightweight champion has proven a number of times that he deserves to be ranked #2 in the UFC’s men’s pound-for-pound rankings. At the moment, news is circulating that the Dagestani fighter is aiming for 170 pounds in the near future. Islam Makachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, has also mentioned the same thing. The submission grappler at welterweight, Gilbert Burns, was asked about his opinion of Makhachev moving up to his division.

Gilbert Burns thinks it could be crazy  if he gets to fight Islam Makhachev

Burns was having a conversation with Submission Radio’s Kacper Rosolowski and Denis Shkuratov. They asked him what advice he has for Makhachev, as he is planning to move from 155 pounds to 170 pounds. Furthermore, the interviewers asked Burns what he thought about the difficulties Makhachev will have to face while fighting the grapplers at 170 pounds.

READ MORE: Islam Makhachev Admits He Got Overwhelmed by “Short” Alexander Volkanovski’s Physical Strength at UFC 284(Video): “Big Experience for Me”

As an answer to their question, Burns said “maybe he might not be aware of. I love to have this fight. A lot of people were tagging me when he said that and I think it was a great fight.” 

In the further conversation ‘Durinho’ talked about what will happen if Durinho and Makhachev come face to face, he added “Heavy hands with a good wrestling. For sure he’s wrestling is better than me but with the good grappling. I would just think it would be a crazy fight. I gotta put my hands on the title then we can make that happen for sure.“

Makhachev has worthy opponents in his current division

Before Makhachev’s victory at UFC 284, he was asked about his plans to move up to 170 lbs. The Dagestani fighter then said that he considered the question to be a highly relevant one. The UFC champion admitted that he loves to move up to fight strong fighters. However, Makhachev said he was not ready to move to welterweight in the near future as there are worthy opponents in his current division to defeat.

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