Burns on Chimaev fight: ‘I won’t fight him as long as he’s 10th in the rankings’

Brazilian UFC fighter Gilbert Burns spoke about a possible duel with a Swedish fighter of Chechen origin Khamzat Chimaev.

“I won’t fight him as long as he is 10th in the rankings,” Burns is quoted as saying by MMA Fighting, citing the Trocacao Franca podcast. “He needs to fight again, and after beating someone in the top 5 or top 6, I will fight him, no problem. I asked for a fight with Neil Magny many times, who is somewhere in ninth place, but the UFC did not want to give me this fight because of the situation in the rating. Therefore, I was not even offered Khamzat. But I want to fight so badly that it would be hard for me to say no to the UFC.”

Burns also called Chimaev a tough fighter. “Hamzat is really cool. He’s new, but he wants to fight. I like his style – he calls everyone. The hype continues, and that’s good for him. He’s doing great,” he said.

It was previously reported that the fight between Chimaev and Burns in the welterweight category could take place in January 2022.