“You Could See It on His Face”: UFC Legend Reveals the Truth About Gilbert Burns’ Mental Condition During His Loss to Belal Muhammad at UFC 288

The UFC president Dana White found himself in a difficult position after the initial co-main event of UFC 288 got canceled. However, Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns stepped up to fight on short notice. But ‘Durinho’ got injured during the fight, which Michael Bisping believes, could have been the biggest factor for his loss last weekend.

The UFC 288 card was riddled with injury. Fans were hoping that Belal Muhammad and Gilbert Burns would put on a clinic, as both of them were highly rated fighters. But that wasn’t the case. ‘Remember the Name’ earned a one-sided, unanimous decision win, which has made him the next title challenger.

Michael Bisping believes the arm injury mentally broke Gilbert Burns

‘The Count’ claims that if a fighter’s mind stays strong even after getting injured, he or she could continue to perform during a fight until the end at the highest level. But Gilbert Burns‘s case, Bisping believes that he was mentally washed out. He said, “I think Gilbert was mentally defeated. You could see it on his face. You could see the look on him. He was so annoyed, mad, and angry, and maybe he was starting to feel sorry for himself.”

Michael Bisping stressed the fact that half of the year is not yet over and Burns has already fought three times. The willingness to fight anyone at any time can take a toll on the body. Bisping added, “It’s the wear and tear of the body, it’s the cutting weight, it’s the actual fight, it’s the preparation [and] the training camps, and not just physically, but mentally as well.” 

‘The Count’ doesn’t want to take away anything from Belal Muhammad

In the wake of Burns‘s injury, people could start pointing fingers at Belal Muhammad since he had more time to prepare than the Brazilian star. But Michael Bisping doesn’t want to discredit Muhammad‘s win. He said, “You’ve got to give credit to Belal Muhammad. Remember, he took it [the fight] on short notice as well and he’s just been through Ramadan.” 

Bisping claims that Muhammad also came into the fight with a lot of pressure, given that he also took the fight on short notice, just like Gilbert Burns. Even though there were a lot of critics who looked down on Muhammad‘s win, The UFC Hall of Famer has no negative things to say about ‘Remember the Name’.

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Belal Muhammad finally got what he wanted after fighting in the UFC for all these years. Dana White has guaranteed him a title shot against the winner of the Colby Covington vs Leon Edwards fight. Fans will have to wait and see what pans out for ‘Remember the Name’.

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