After one of the saddest nights of his life at UFC
258, the first thing Gilbert
Burns did when he woke up on Sunday was text Dana White asking
to return as soon as possible.
Burns shared the story with Brazilian journalist Renato Rebello on
his Youtube channel, Sexto Round,
while waiting for his return flight from Las Vegas to Florida.
Burns lost to Kamaru
Usman via third-round technical knockout in the UFC 258
headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday.
“That´s fighter life. Winning and losing is part of the game. Of
course, the fact that I had such a good first round and seeing the
belt so close made me feel the weight of defeat even more. But I
cried a lot, had a long talk with Vitor
Belfort, Ronaldo [Souza] and my older brother and somehow it
helped me to wake up really motivated, texting Dana to get me
back as soon as possible,” Burns said. “I just want to spend two or
three weeks 100 percent with my wife and kids and return 100
percent to the training routine. My biggest inspirations are guys
like Georges St.
Pierre and Robbie
Lawler, who returned stronger and, after few wins, got the
chance to answer the defeat. That´s what I´m gonna do
against Kamaru after I get two or three wins.”
Burns also revealed what his former teammate told him while they
embraced in the Octagon.
“He told I´m the toughest guy he ever fought,” Burns said. “I have
nothing but respect for him, but that´s our profession.”
After his victory at UFC 258, Usman called for a rematch with
Jorge
Masvidal. Meanwhile, the promotion is targeted Colby
Covington as a replacement opponent for Leon
Edwards on March 13. During the interview, Burns was asked to
choose among Michael
Chiesa, Stephen
Thompson, Khamzat
Chimaev and Nate Diaz as
potential adversaries in the welterweight division. Burns said he
would face any of the above but considers Diaz to be the least
likely option.
“My main goal is get back on belt path, so any of those
names would be interesting challenges,” he said. “Actually I
would face Nate next week. But I don’t believe he would accept. I
already defeated Kron
Gracie, Jake Shields.
He knows I´m a terrible matchup for him.”