It looks like Gilbert Burns did not get the opponent he truly wanted in his most recent win.
Following a “Fight of the Year” candidate against Khamzat Chimaev this past April, Burns was anxious to book at least one more 2022 appearance in the UFC.
That never happened. The one-time title challenger pursued a fight against Jorge Masvidal at UFC 281. When that fell apart, he then turned his attention to UFC 283 so he could fight in Brazil for the first time since 2020, when he competed in an empty arena at the start of the global pandemic.
Burns ultimately got his wish, getting matched up against Neil Magny. But he revealed that wasn’t the first option the UFC initially offered.
“It was supposed to be [Jorge] Masvidal, [and there was] a lot of back and forth, [but] he didn’t take the fight,” Burns said. “The fight was even offered to Belal Muhammad. “That was the fight the UFC wanted to make, but he was one of these guys – ‘Oh, I’ll fight him, but not in Brazil, not right now, not on that date,’ and Neil Magny stepped up and he took the fight. For sure, I respect [Magny]. I wanted that fight, especially in Brazil, for sure I’m thankful for the guy to step up and take the fight.”
Burns got into a heated war of words over social media with Masvidal when their fight fizzled, but he was actually more upset that Muhammad passed on the chance to face him in January.
He was offered to fight in Brazil, and he turned it down,” Burns said of Muhammad. “Crazy because he got my place in the rankings without beating me. When the fight was offered, he declined it. That’s another story. But yeah, we might see each other soon.”
Muhammad is currently riding a nine-fight undefeated streak, which includes wins over Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, Demian Maia and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
With all signs pointing towards a title fight trilogy between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman in early 2023, Muhammad has previously called for a showdown with Khamzat Chimaev but Burns still doesn’t understand why he passed up the chance to face him at UFC 283.
Long term, Burns wants to put his name back in contention to fight for a UFC title again, which is going to require him to earn those matchups against higher ranked competition.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.
Follow me on Twitter: @WhoElseButRami
Follow us on Twitter: @BodyslamNet
