Gilbert Burns became the first fighter in the UFC to truly test Khamzat Chimaev when they battled it out for three rounds back in April at UFC 273.
On that night, Chimaev won a unanimous decision on the scorecards – but not without Burns dishing out a whole lot of punishment in a truly epic back-and-forth war. While Burns awaits the word on his next fight, Chimaev appears only one more win away from a potential title shot against reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
Burns is familiar with Usman better than any other UFC fighter. He trained alongside the champion for many years and has fought him at UFC 258.. He is confident that Usman will beat Chimaev at a future meeting.
“Kamaru, I think the IQ difference [over Khamzat] — IQ makes a lot of difference,” Burns told MMA Fighting. “I think Kamaru is very smart. Kamaru hits hard. Kamaru took me out. Three rounds, [Khamzat] couldn’t put me away. I think Kamaru does hit harder.
” I think Kamaru is a better wrestler than this man. With the timing, the movement, with mixing things up, the feints, the angles, I think Kamaru is a level above this guy still.”
While Burns gives Chimaev credit for durability, he still believes there are advantages for Usman, especially in a five-round title affair.
According to Burns, it’s the cerebral way that Usman approaches his fights that really makes a huge difference every time he competes. That’s a huge difference against somebody like Chimaev.
“I think Khamzat will be tough, but it’s nothing Kamaru hasn’t seen,” Burns said. “I stuffed one takedown, he took me down one time, but nothing [serious]. Kamaru’s IQ is different.”
As far as fights that might actually be tougher for the current champion, Burns actually points toward Usman’s likely next opponent.
“Leon Edwards because of the striking and the movement,” Burns stated. “I believe Leon Edwards. People are sort of forgetting about him with so many things about Khamzat. But I still think Leon Edwards .”
is very tough
When it comes to Chimaev’s potential fight with Colby Covington (two-time UFC champion) he was also attached. This is due to his legal troubles following an attack by Jorge Masvidal on Chimaev in March.
UFC President Dana White stated that he would like to see Covington take on Chimaev. However, it’s not clear if this promotion will actually be booked. Burns believes that Chimaev will pose more problems to Covington if this happens.
“I think Colby hasn’t been tested,” Burns said. He’ll try to wrestle against him. [Khamzat] is a heavy hand. That’s something he needs to understand. One thing, that can be different is the Colby pace and cardio. This guy might even be pushing him into the final rounds.
“We’ll see if that’s next, or if it will be Colby Covington and Khamzat Chimaev. It’s not a close fight but Kamaru seems to be a step ahead of this guy .”
As far as his own relationship with Usman after they were matched together in a fight, Burns is happy to report that fences have been mended. The title fight saw Usman leaving Sanford MMA and beginning training in Colorado under Trevor Wittman, while Burns remained at the South Florida gym.
Prior to his fight with Chimaev in April, Burns revealed that Usman had reached out about stopping by Sanford MMA as he was recovering from hand surgery and it was a great opportunity to put the past behind them.
“The fight happened, he beat me, I have all the respect for all these guys that I fight, especially the champion,” Burns said. “It was good to have him back in there. He is a good friend of mine. The opposite, I like the guy a lot. We share a lot in common [for each other]. I saw the guy at 1-0 become the best pound-for-pound in the world. I saw that transformation, all that hard work, so I respect that. I have all due respect for Kamaru.
“He reached back to me. Henry [Hooft] said he would be in town, kind of recovering with his hand, spending time with his daughter, and [he asked] if he could train her and I said sure he can come. I don’t have no bad blood. It’s good to have the guy back. Great energy to support the team .”
