Gilbert Burns revealed his preparations ahead of a potential bout with former UFC welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley. Burns has been on a roll lately and is on a 5-fight win streak.
His last win came at UFC Brasilia in which he defeated a legend in Demian Maia. The Brazilian is expected to face off against “The Chosen One” on May 30.
Originally, Woodley was supposed to fight Leon Edwards in London. But the Coronavirus pandemic didn’t let it happen. As a result, Woodley was left without an opponent. With many fighters declining to fight Woodley, Burns was the UFC’s best option.
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Gilbert Burns is training with Kamaru Usman
In an interview with Sherdog, Burns stated that he is excited to fight the American. He believes that Woodley is a good matchup for him, although fighters like Stephen Thompson said otherwise.
“I think it’s a good matchup. I think I match up very well against Tyron Woodley. And I can’t wait. I’m gonna dominate Woodley and get the title shot.”
Apart from that, Burns revealed that he has been training with Woodley’s former foe and his friend, Kamaru Usman. Last Year, Usman defeated Woodley in a unanimous decision to win the welterweight strap.
The Brazilian also said that he has trained with Robbie Lawler. He claimed that training with Woodley’s two former opponents gives him enough confidence to beat Woodley.
“Kamaru has been helping me slot since last week,” Burns said. We spar, we are gonna spar tomorrow and we’re gonna train on Tuesday again. He gave me a lot of details and insights on Tyron Woodley.
“I trained with Robbie Lawler that Tyron Woodley beat and I trained with Kamaru Usman that beat Tyron Woodley. So I have very good insights on Tyron Woodley and that gives me more confidence to fight him.”
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If Burns can pull off the upset against Woodley, it will put him in an interesting spot in the welterweight division. Currently, he is ranked #6 and earning a win over the #1 contender will put him in title contention straightaway. But will he fight Usman?
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Yes!
“At the end of the day it’s just one champion. I wanna be the best and he’s the best right no. So I believe we’re gonna take it very professionally,” Burns said.