Gilbert Burns plans to make a loud statement on the event of UFC 287 that takes place at Miami-Dade Arena in Miami, Florida, where he will face Jorge Masvidal in the co-main event. Currently, Colby Covington is the only fighter being talked about for the next shot at the welterweight title against current champion Leon Edwards. Masvidal, who has his own beef with Edwards, hopes that a win against Burns will be enough to convince the UFC to give him the opportunity he is striving for; however, he will have to go up against Belal Muhammad, Khamzat Chimaev, Shavkat Rakhmonov, and Conor McGregor, who are all in contention as well.
Burns is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and is considered one of the best jiu-jitsu practitioners in the UFC. He uses this edge to his advantage and it is his only clear advantage against Masvidal. His mission is to prove to Dana White that his performance is worthy of a title shot. His dreams do have some competition, Covington being the biggest, who is known for manipulating the public for self-promotion.
Although Covington is a tough adversary, Burns stays on the gentleman’s side of the competitors with a good attitude and respect. He recently ran into Covington and surprisingly it did not turn into the confrontational situation one may have anticipated. He describes Covington as a good guy, “super cool,” and “respectful.”
The UFC, formerly known as the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has grown in popularity over the years and is now the longest-running MMA promotions organization in the world. Founded in 1993 by Art Davie and Rorion Gracie, the company sets the standard for modern day MMA. With this being said, fighters like Gilbert Burns have an uphill climb to become contenders for the title. Though Gilbert has proven himself in the highest level of the sport, he is still looking to make a lasting impression in order to be granted his chance.
Concluding his journey is to stand toe-to-toe with Masvidal and prove why he should be deserving of the title shot. He explains that he does not want anything given to him but instead, wants to go out there and put on a performance that will leave Dana White in doubt trying to decide if he is making the right decision on granting the title shot to someone else. So now, we wait and see what Gilbert Burns can do come fight night on Saturday.
