Eight months removed from their blood-soaked classic fight at UFC 273, Gilbert Burns has shed some light on his current opinion of Khamzat Chimaev.
‘Borz’ defeated Gilbert Burns via unanimous decision in a hard-hitting brawl that surprisingly kept both me striking on their feet for the most part. Since then, neither man has stepped into the Octagon.
According to ‘Durinho’, Khamzat Chimaev has been offered at least two high-profile that he is avoiding. Interestingly, both opponents in question currently compete in the middleweight division.
Chimaev failed to make the welterweight limit at UFC 279. Consequently, his main event with Nate Diaz was cancelled, and he wound up fighting Kevin Holland on the undercard with Diaz headlining against Tony Ferguson.
In a recent interview with Super Lutas, Gilbert Burns highlighted popular middleweight contender Paulo Costa and current champion Alex Pereira as potential blockbuster fights Chimaev turned down. Burns went on to analyze why “Borz” might be hesitant to take either fight.
“I took him [Chimaev] down, imagine ‘Poatan’. If I knocked him down, Poatan’s hand must be very heavy. I took him down and he [Chimaev] keeps talking nonsense with these guys. ‘Poatan’s hand is huge, ‘Borrachinha’s is huge.”
According to Chimaev, however, his inactivity right now stems from potential opponents pulling out. The rising star has claimed that four different fights have been cancelled recently due to few competitors wanting to step into the Octagon with him.
Gilbert Burns Questions Khamzat Chimaev’s “Character”
Gilbert Burns was highly critical of Chimaev’s weight-cutting problems, as well as his overall attitude at the moment. He expressed admiration for Chimaev’s initial approach to challenging as many fighters as possible.
In more recent times, however, Burns feels that Chimaev has become too famous, too quickly, and it’s impacted his approach to both fighting and self-promotion.
“It’s not that he [Chimaev] got lost. He didn’t find himself,” Gilbert Burns explained. “Things happened too fast for him. With three fights, he was already the guy. At first, I liked it a lot. He challenged and fought. Then he got out of character. Gives up hitting weights, confusion here, there. I like this style, the guy who challenges everyone. There is no bad time.”
Gilbert Burns has not fought since his bout against Chimaev back in April. He is currently booked to face Neil Magny at UFC 283 next year.
As for Chimaev, everyone from Colby Covington to Alex Pereira has been floated as a potential new foe. Right now, it all depends on what weight class he commits to moving forward. His coach has recently come forward to express his preference of Chimaev facing Pereira next.