Gilbert Burns recently addressed Khamzat Chimaev’s call-out for a rematch in Brazil at UFC 283. ‘Durinho’ had a succinct response to the welterweight behemoth who proposed the idea of a fight in the middleweight division.
Khamzat Chimaev met Burns for the first time in a welterweight fight at UFC 273. ‘Borz’ endured the toughest challenge of his MMA career enroute to a unanimous decision victory over ‘Durinho.’
In a recent interview with Brett Okamoto for ESPN MMA, ‘Borz’ laid out his plans for 2023. Chimaev claimed that he wants to challenge the freshly crowned UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira on his home turf. However, if that fight matchup fails to materialize, the Chechen-born Swede has Gilbert Burns on his mind as a viable option:
“If Alex not ready to be killed, let’s go du it again in Brazil 84 kg this time.”
Burns responded to Chimaev’s call-out on Twitter by simply saying:
“Any weight @KChimaev”
While Burns hasn’t competed since the loss to Chimaev earlier this year, Borz’s most recent fight was a catchweight bout against Kevin Holland at UFC 279. The 28-year-old put on a masterful performance, submitting Holland in the very first round. ‘Borz’ is currently on a six-fight winning streak in the UFC.
Khamzat Chimaev strongly believes that 2023 will be his year
Khamzat Chimaev wants to be a multi-division world champion in the UFC. He has targeted fights against Alex Pereira and Colby Covington to get closer to his goals.
In a perfect case scenario, Chimaev wants to challenge Pereira for the middleweight throne at UFC 283 in January followed by a fight with Covington in March. However, he’s still unsure if ‘Chaos’ will accept a fight against the undefeated Chechen.
With that in mind, Khamzat Chimaev stated in an interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA that he envisions 2023 to be a fruitful year for him:
“Next year, it’s my year. Colby, I beat him. Then they have to give me a fight for a belt. Whichever weight class, It doesn’t matter. I’m ready for some belts. I don’t think he [Covington] will [accept fight against him]. Sometimes people say something and do different things. If Dana calls me and he asks me things, I say do it.”
Watch the full interview below: