After an emphatic triumph against Neil Magny at
UFC
283, Gilbert
Burns already has a plan in mind for his next fight within the
Las Vegas-based promotion.
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“Whenever the UFC asked me to fight on short notice I never said
no. I’ve heard they will do another ‘Ultimate Fighter,’ and I hope
they give me the opportunity to headline it against Colby
Covington,” Burns said at the UFC 283 post-fight press
conference. “But I’m also available to be the reserve fighter of
Leon
Edwards vs. Kamaru
Usman at UFC 286 in London. And if they want to put me against
[Belal
Muhammad] in London, I’m ready. I just want to be really active
this year.”
Burns also discussed the retirements of Mauricio Rua
and Glover
Teixeira, both of whom competed for the last time at UFC
283.
“Those guys were big inspirations for my generation,” Burns said.
“Not only for the amazing accomplishments of their careers, but
also for the way they always treat their oponents. No doubt their
names are printed in MMA history.”
Meanwhile, Burns predicted a bright future for Ismael
Bonfim and Gabriel
Bonfim, who both earned memorable victories in their Octagon
debuts at UFC 283.
“They are the future of Brazilian MMA. I trained with them some
camps ago when I was with [Vicente] Luque at Cerrado MMA and could
feel they are really special,” Burns said. “I did a particular
sparring with Ismael that was so tough … that the head coach
prohibited us from doing other sparring [sessions]. When I saw them
today in the arena, I welcomed them and told them to have fun. I
have no doubt this will be your home for a long time. And they did
exactly what I expected. Those guys are coming to be champions in
their respective weight classes.
“By the way, there are four names I bet on as the future of
Brazilian MMA and they were all on that card: Gabriel, Ismael,
[Jailton
Almeida] and Gregory [Rodrigues],” he added. “Gregory didn’t
have a good night. He was so prepared to face [Brad] Tavares, so
when they changed to a totally different opponent I don’t
think he was ready. I’m sure he will make a strong recovery.”