Welterweight contender Gilbert Burns did not get the nod against Khamzat Chimaev in their war at UFC 273, but he might still be rewarded for his performance anyway. Although ‘Durinho’ lost the fight, UFC president Dana White was very pleased with the Brazilian and that could go a long way in the promotion, too.
In an interview with Ag Fight Burns explained that he had a conversation with White after the fight and the boss seemed very satisfied with his performance. In fact, Gilbert claims that the president was so pleased that he promised Durinho he would give him a great opponent for his next match.
“I expected the win, but it happens. It had a great repercussion, everybody liked the fight. Yesterday, I had a meeting with Dana White, he was thrilled. He said my next fight is going to be a big one. I don’t know who it’s going to be against, but I liked what he said. He promised me a big fight. I chose to believe him and I’m at ease now. Let’s wait and see.”
“It’s almost certain that they’ll give me a new contract.” Burns said. “I renewed it in my fight against Usman. It was six fights. I fought Kamaru, Thompson and now Chimaev. I still had three more to go, but it’s ‘promised’ that they’ll give me a new one. I hope it all works out. It’s not certain, but I think I can ask for a new one after a performance like that.”
Before the loss to Chimaev, Burns (20-5) picked up a unanimous decision win over Stephen Thompson, back in July 2021. That victory made the 35-year-old bounce back from a TKO defeat to champion Kamaru Usman, in February of the same year.
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