In terms of results, UFC 287 was a great night for Gilbert Burns. The former UFC title contender took minimal amounts of damage in a decisive 3-round victory over Jorge Masvidal. Sure, the fight wasn’t the most thrilling thing to watch, but for a fighter looking to keep his place at the top of the division, winning was the most important thing.
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That proved doubly true after the event, when Burns seemingly leveraged his record and ranking into backup status for the likely upcoming title fight between Colby Covington and Leon Edwards. Despite all the success, however, ‘Durinho’ wasn’t entirely satisfied. Speaking to the assembled media at the UFC 287 post-fight presser, Gilbert Burns had a grievance to air over the lackluster nature of his performance in the Octagon. To hear him tell it, the reason he didn’t dominate Masvidal more thoroughly was because ‘Gamebred’ was cheating.
Gilbert Burns accused Masvidal of ‘old dog’ Miami trickery
“That guy was freaking slippery,” Gilbert Burns told reporters, adding that he was 100% sure that Masvidal was greasing. “That’s an old dog Miami trick with the lotion, because he was so slippery. Wow.”
For his part, Masvidal was quick to deny the accusation. Noting that, over his very long career, he’s never had a problem with regulations or commissions.
“Maybe I’m the sweatiest motherf—ker he knows, but I’ve never greased,” Masvidal responded, when asked about Burns’ claims, adding that the referee would have quickly noticed if he was oily—rather than just sweaty—in the cage.
Perhaps it’s a simple act of contrition on Gilbert Burns’ part with a little extra time to think about the fight? Or maybe it’s public & private backlash he’s faced since making his claims? Or maybe Masvidal’s response on the matter was enough to put the whole thing to bed? Whatever the case, Burns took to social media on Tuesday to issue a retraction and an apology to his opponent.
Burns issued an apology on Twitter
“What’s up guys, Gilbert Burns right here. And I just would like to take a moment to apologize to Jorge ‘Gamebred’ Masvidal and his team, ATT,” Burns stated in the video message. “The things that I said after the fight at the post-conference at UFC 287—I said that he passed lotion and this and that. And I said too much. And I cannot prove that and I would like to send my apologies to Jorge and his team.
“And with everything that I said, I hope he accepts my apologies. I feel what I did was wrong; I have no proof that he did that and I want to take nothing away from him. The guy is a warrior; 52 pro fights. I hope he have a good retirement and I hope you accept my apologies. Thank you, guys.”
Without Burns prepared to back up his claims with an official complaint to the commission, that likely puts the matter entirely to bed. In the meantime, the Kill Cliff FC athlete seems like he’s in for a bit of a wait on the sidelines, until the welterweight title picture sorts itself out more completely.
For Masvidal, retirement awaits. The 38-year-old has expressed some interest in possibly stepping into the boxing ring at some point in the future, but that doesn’t appear to be anywhere on the near horizon. Though fans might expect him to jump at the growing market for ex-MMA talent in bare-knuckle boxing, Masvidal has essentially ruled out the idea, noting that long-standing hand issues would make competing without gloves nearly impossible.
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