Gilbert
Burns isn’t someone who likes to turn down fights.
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During a recent interview on Renato
Carneiro’s YouTube channel, Burns was asked why he accepted a
fight against Jack
Della Maddalena at UFC
299
Burns responded by explaining why he accepted the fight against
Maddalena, who has been victorious in his first six UFC
appearances.
“That was an offer from [matchmaker] Sean Shelby. I´m not a guy who
turn down fights because of ranking,” Burns said. “My thing is I
lost my last fight, and I need to get back in the win column.”
If Burns is able to emerge from UFC 299 with a clean bill of
health, he would be interested in competing at UFC 301 in Rio de
Janeiro on May 4.
“My goal is have a dominant performance, and if I don’t get hurt,
[returning] to fight in my city would be excellent,” he said. “But
of course that´s not my main goal right now. JDM is a tough guy and
I´m 100% focused on him.”
Burns also discussed his thoughts on some of the other high-profile
matchups on Saturday’s card, which takes place at the Kaseya Center
in Miami. “Durinho” is especially interested in the heavyweight
showdown between Jailton
Almeida and Curtis
Blaydes.
“There are a couple of great fights on this card like [Sean]
O’Malley vs. [Marlon
Vera]; [Dustin] Poirier vs [Benoit St.] Denis, but one of the
most intriguing ones will be [Jailton
Almeida vs. Curtis
Blaydes].
“’Malhadinho’ can win, but he needs to grapple more than wrestle.
He must look for the back not for takedowns — just like Demian Maia
did beating many wrestlers. That would be the best way for Almeida
to win. I know a lot of guys who trained with him like Rodolfo
Vieira, who said he is really tough on the ground. So he must
use those tactics.”