Since returning to the welterweight division in 2019, Gilbert Burns has fought a lot of the best contenders at 170 pounds.
Burns has suffered some setbacks following his move up from lightweight but he’s also achieved great success.
His initial winning streak, where Burns defeated the likes of Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley, led him all the way to a title shot where he challenged his friend and former teammate Kamaru Usman in a tense affair.
‘Durinho’ is currently coming off of three consecutive losses but you only need to look at the opponents that he’s been beaten by to see that he’s competing at the very top.
Burns has suffered defeats to the current champion Jack Della Maddalena, the former champion Belal Muhammad, and the number one contender, Sean Brady.
Gilbert Burns names Colby Covington as the easiest fight in the welterweight top 10
Having faced the best of the best, Gilbert Burns recently gave his assessment of who the most overrated fighter in the welterweight division is.
He chose to name one of the top names that he hasn’t met inside the Octagon though it is a matchup that ‘Durinho’ has pushed for in the past.
Burns did need some help from Kamaru Usman after appearing on the Pound 4 Pound podcast but he eventually came to his answer of Colby Covington.
He did clarify that he doesn’t mean that ‘Chaos’ was always overrated with the American being a former interim champion who faced Usman for the title on two occasions.
With Covington coming off of back-to-back defeats, Burns believes that he’s the easiest fight in the division’s top 10 rankings.
“On the division, bro, everybody’s very tough right there. Jack [Della Maddalena], Sean Brady, Belal [Muhammad], Shavkat [Rakhmonov]. Ian [Machado Garry] is very, very tough, too. Yeah, Covington is overrated, that’s it. Covington is an easy fight for anyone in the top 10. Easiest fight right now. Not when you [Usman] fought him, but right now.”
Gilbert Burns will look to keep his place in the top 10 at UFC Vegas 106
In the main event of UFC Vegas 106, Gilbert Burns’ spot in the welterweight top 10 is on the line when he faces the undefeated Michael Morales.
The surging 25-year-old has won five-in-a-row heading into May 17, having stopped Neil Magny in the first round last time out.
With Burns only being beaten by the very best that the division has to offer, this is a real acid test for Morales to find out whether he’s the real deal.
For ‘Durinho’, this fight could determine how much longer he will stick around if he can no longer compete with the best guys at 170 pounds.