Gilbert Burns is aiming for a finish of Neil Magny.
In his first fight since his ‘Fight of the Night’ against Khamzat Chimaev, Burns shares the Octagon with Magny at UFC 283, the upcoming pay-per-view scheduled for Jan. 21 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. He lost to ‘Borz’, but Burns’ performance was enough for UFC president Dana White to promise him a ‘big fight’ for his next appearance. That led to Magny, the all-time leader in wins in the welterweight division.
During an appearance on the Believe You Me podcast, ‘Durinho’ explained why he needs more than a win against Magny.
“I’m at a point right now where a win is not enough,” said Burns. “I need to get a finish. It needs to be spectacular and in order to have that type of finish, the training camp is different. I’m putting a lot of work to make sure Jan. 21, I come ready to finish this guy. Not just a win, not a bulls—t decision, not let’s see what the judges are gonna see. No, f—k that. No more. I never like it, but after the last one even more now. I don’t want to depend on the judges. They’ve been messing up a lot of guys, so, no, I have 15 minutes to finish this guy and don’t let the judges make a decision for me.”
A win over Magny is the first step in Burns’ campaign to earn a second championship opportunity. His first came against Kamaru Usman at UFC 258, where he suffered a third-round TKO loss nearly two years ago.
Though he fell short of his goal of becoming a champion then, Burns is ready to try again now, starting with Magny.
“I want to get three finishes, at least [in 2023],” said Burns. “I want to make a statement in this fight. Like you said, Neil Magny is very tough. All due respect to the guy, especially fighting me in Brazil. I know a lot of people don’t want to fight me, especially in Rio. The guy has balls, I gotta respect him a little bit.
“A perfect year would be three finishes and earning a title shot,” continued Burns. “I don’t want to beg, I don’t want to ask, I don’t want a favor. I want to earn that. And a devastating finish against Neil Magny will get me a step closer to that.”
UFC 283 is headlined by a light heavyweight fight between Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill.
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