Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on
your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the
ESPN app. Count
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Gilbert
Burns among those that give Michael
Chandler a chance should Chandler fight for a belt at
UFC 254. The win for Colby
Covington over former UFC welterweight champion Tyron
Woodley at UFC Fight Night 178 brought “Chaos” back to the #1
position in the rankings. According to the #2 Burns, these ranking
exchanges will not take away his upcoming title shot.
“Fortunately, this ranking is not made by the UFC,” Burns explained
to Sherdog. “I called [UFC matchmaker] Sean Shelby last Friday and
he guaranteed I’ll be the next [challenger]. I’m just waiting for
the contract to sign my fight with [Kamaru] Usman.”
Coming from an impressive sequence of six wins in UFC, the former
lightweight with four straight wins in his new division did not
hide his disappointment with those that voted in the rankings.
“Colby defeated Demian [Maia] by decision, I knocked Demian out in
the first round and defeated Woodley in a pretty dominant way,”
Burns exclaimed. “When I defeated Tyron, he was #1, so I turned #1
and he fell down to #5. How come Colby beat [the] #5 [fighter], in
a less dominant way than me, and robbed me of my first place? That
just don’t make sense! I’m not a wrestler and took him down a
couple of times, applied a knockdown and almost [finished] the
fight twice. That’s unbelievable. But thank God it [did not affect]
UFC’s decision.”
Burns also discussed the possibility of his teammate Chandler
making his UFC debut fighting a belt against Khabib
Nurmagomedov or Justin
Gaethje.
“I have no doubt that if someone gets hurt, Michael can be trouble
for anyone. He is one of my main sparring partners. In my opinion,
he is [a more technical striker] than both. He is faster and more
precise than Khabib and Gaethje. Concerning wrestling, he has
pedigree to exchange with both to keep the fight standing up,
where, as I said, I think he is superior. So, I tell you, if
someone is not able to fight, be sure that Chandler is ready to
rock,” concluded Burns.
UFC 254 takes place on Oct. 24 at the Flash Forum on Yas Island,
United Arab Emirates. The marquee matchup is in the form of a
lightweight title unification, as champ Khabib
Nurmagomedov faces interim titleholder Justin
Gaethje. The current co-main event is Alexander
Volkov vs. Walt Harris
at heavyweight, and Robert
Whittaker vs. Jared
Cannonier will also be featured on the main card in the
middleweight division.
