Gilbert
Burns doubts Michael
Chandler can hold his own on the ground against Paddy
Pimblett.
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Chandler and Pimblett are set to clash at UFC
314 on Saturday at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. It’s
almost a home outing for Chandler, who trains at
Kill Cliff FC in Florida. “Iron” was recently seen training
with former welterweight title contender Burns.
Burns revealed that he had the pleasure of wrestling with Pimblett
in Mexico in the past. Known for his elite grappling, Burns
considers “The Baddy” a high-level grappler as well. According to
“Durinho,” Chandler’s key to victory against the Liverpudlian will
be to stay on the feet. If forced to wrestle at all, Burns advises
Chandler to attempt ground-and-pound instead of engaging in
jiu-jitsu exchanges against Pimblett.
“Michael’s ready. Facing a guy that is very tough,” Burns said on the UFC 314 Countdown show. “I had
honor to grapple with Paddy when I was in Mexico. Guy has a
high-level grappling. So the key to Michael is to keep the fight on
the feet. If he has to grapple, he has to take him down and
ground-and-pound. You don’t want to grapple with a grappler.”
While Chandler is 2-4 in the
UFC and coming off consecutive losses, he has only fought elite
competition. Meanwhile, Pimblett is undefeated in six UFC outings
with four finishes but faces a huge step up in competition in
Chandler.