Gilbert Burns is unsure if a win over welterweight sensation Khamzat Chimaev will automatically grant him another shot at the UFC belt, and that’s why he sees Colby Covington as his definitive next step before a second crack at gold.
That said, “Durinho” doesn’t believe Covington will ever agree to face him.
Covington defeated American Top Team rival Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 272 on March 5 and immediately called out another former teammate, lightweight contender Dustin Poirier.
“Covington was wrong to ask for Poirier, instead of a [welterweight] competitor,” Burns stated on a recent episode Trocacao Franca .. “He doesn’t accept fights. This is the hardest part. I’ve been trying to get a fight with Colby for years and can’t.”
Burns has only lost once as a 170-pounder in the UFC, a third-round knockout at the hands of champion Kamaru Usman. Covington also lost to Usman twice, his only loss in six years. Covington defeated prominent names such as Demian Maia and Rafael dos Anjos along with Robbie Lawler and Tyron Woodley over that time.
“Colby is very smart,” said Burns, who beat Stephen Thompson in his most recent octagon appearance. He doesn’t take on anyone coming off of a win if you see his fights. ‘Oh, if it wasn’t for Usman, he’d be champion.’ Really? Fighting against nobodies, no contenders? It’s a fight I would love to have. [Do] Do you think that this fight will actually happen? I don’t know, he doesn’t accept it and negotiates well, goes out there and talks a bunch of crazy stuff and a lot of people like his crazy talk. What should I do?
” I don’t believe he is the monster of cardio. But he does fight people towards the end of their career, Masvidal. And he does well. But he’s on my list. He is on my first list to combat .”
Covington won a dominant decision over Masvidal earlier this year at UFC 272. Burns said it was an excellent performance but that “Gamebred” is to blame.
” I wanted Masvidal win but, when he got there, it was obvious that he hadn’t been shredded. He wasn’t fit. You could even see the spare tire.” Burns stated. “I was like, ‘Damn, this guy didn’t train that hard.’ And it went down as I expected — Colby taking him down, a boring fight. Colby does a good job with takedowns and volume. But he isn’t great with striking. He doesn’t have any heavy kicks or hands that hurt.
“He is a shrewd guy who will take you down but keep you on the top. He doesn’t know jiu jitsu and won’t finish you. This is a fight I want in the future. Although it was an impressive performance, we weren’t expecting anything. It wasn’t like, ‘Wow, he killed the guy.’ He won, but no big deal.”
“Durinho” stated that he wants Masvidal’s victory because he does not like Colby’s trash talk style, even though the Brazilian welterweight regretted some of the ***-talking” he did in the past while trying to get fights against Leon Edwards or Covington.
“You can talk trash, of course,” Burns said. “It’s free speech, you can say whatever you want, but I don’t agree with the disrespect. Talking about mothers, discussing Brazil, Dustin and Dustin. Also, Dustin’s ex-wife, Masvidal. He seems to be a bit too nimble.
“[Colby] lost all respect. Then two Brazilians, Cesar [Carneiro] Valverde and [Daniel] Valverde come to my house, whom I respect. They say that he is very nice and friendly in the gym.
“I see they can see money signs in [Covington] and give him attention because 10 percent of $400,000 or $500,000, his last purses, is $40,000 or $50,000, plus the money he probably pays them. He gets so much support, it’s frustrating. “No, he is great at the gym.” He must, because he only talks s*** outside. He only talks s*** outside.”
