‘I Wanna Beat This Guy Up Right Now’- Gilbert Burns Almost Got Into a Street Fight With Stephen Thompson

Gilbert Burns is all set to clash against the American fighter Stephen Thompson inside the octagon. While the combat fans are eagerly waiting for the biggest trilogy of the year Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 3, the bout between the ‘Durinho’ and ‘Wonderboy’ also promises to be a great one.

The fighters are well prepared to battle inside the cage. However, they could have fought way back in 2019. In a recent interview, Burns remembered the moment he wanted to beat Thompson at UFC 244.

‘Wonderboy’ defeated Vicente Luque via knockout at UFC 244. ‘Durinho’ cornered Luque for the fight. However, the Brazilian native, who was not satisfied by the outcome of the fight, held a hostile feeling towards Thompson.

Talking to MMA on Point Burns said, “I don’t even like to say this, but I got very close to fighting Wonderboy when I got in the Octagon, but I was just like. I was just so mad at the guy. I wanna beat this guy up right now.”

“Then Wonderboy came up to me and he says ‘Hey! I’m a huge fan of you! You’re doing great right now!’ and he wanted to shake my hand and want to be so nice and I was just like. I shook his hand and looked at his eyes. I said nothing. If I said something, we would fight. Like I didn’t say nothing, I just shook his hand, look in his eyes, like, so mad.”

At the time, Burns held his emotions and decided not to react at the moment. However, this will not be the scenario inside the cage when the Brazilian fighter battles against Thompson at UFC 264.

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Gilbert Burns vs Stephen Thompson: Preview

The (19-4) record holder is coming off a loss against Kamaru Usman. Meanwhile, Thompson will look to continue his two-win streak at UFC 264. As both the fighters sit inside the top 5 in the UFC welterweight rankings, there is a lot on the line for them.

Burns is one of the best submission grapplers in the UFC with a record of eight wins via submission. Moreover, the Brazilian is a former world Jiu-Jitsu champion. Meanwhile, ‘Wonderboy’ is one of the best strikers in the division. The latter has stopped many skilled fighters including Robert Whittaker and Jorge Masvidal.

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Therefore, facing Thompson will not be a walk in the park for the ‘Durinho’. However, a win in the fight will secure Burns’s position in the title race. Meanwhile, if ‘Wonderboy’ bags a victory he is surely going to be the #1 contender for the welterweight gold. This is because he is the only one amongst the top 5 UFC welterweight fighters to have not faced Usman.

Who do you think is going to win this fight?