With one of the most stacked cards of the year so far, UFC 287 is just behind us. The highly touted card served the fight fans with several incredible finishes and highlights. The Miami-Dade Arena witnessed Israel Adesanya avenge his only middleweight loss in the company against his archnemesis Alex Pereira. Aside from that, Gilbert Burns triumphed over Jorge Masvidal with a unanimous decision.
‘Durinho‘ spoiled Masvidal’s homecoming in front of the Miami crowd. The bout started on the feet and stayed there for a good chunk of the three rounds. However, as fans had expected, Burns used his wrestling prowess to edge out a victory over the former two-time title challenger.
Gilbert gets the W!!@GilbertDurinho takes the unanimous decision over Jorge Masvidal in our #UFC287 co-main pic.twitter.com/hd0oG6GMwE
— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2023
The ground control and takedowns made a strong case for Burns to secure the unanimous decision that he earned in front of the Miami crowd. However, despite winning the bout, Gilbert made some serious claims about Jorge’s cheating tricks up his sleeves.
With this victory, Burns is now riding on a two-fight winning streak. While Jorge ‘Gamebred‘ Masvidal has seemingly retired from the world of mixed martial arts, it only seems up and above for Gilbert from here on. The Brazilian native already knows what he wants next, and that is the UFC welterweight strap.
Gilbert Burns wants title shot after UFC 287
After a near-flawless victory over Miami’s own Jorge Masvidal, Gilbert isn’t planning to slow his pace down. In fact, the 36-year-old was firm in what he wanted next, instead of putting forward a request. During the post-fight presser, Gilbert described his foreseeable future plans, and he isn’t settling for anything less than the UFC gold.
Burns said, “I’d almost say it’s a done deal, Colby [Covington] vs Leon [Edwards] in London, if I’m not wrong. It’s almost a done deal. I wanna be a backup, I’m going to. I’m not asking. I’m demanding that I’m going to, because whenever they [UFC] ask anytime, they gave me a call asking for opponents, [and] I say yes.”
“And now I’m demanding I’m going out there. I’m gonna do my training camp for five rounds. I [will] go to London, I’ll be the backup and I’m next in line to fight for the title.” added Gilbert.
The former title challenger insinuated he’d like to be a free agent and possibly for better pay than the UFC. Burns explained, “Otherwise let me go, my guy. Let me do my thing. These guys are making a million dollars here in the other organizations. That’s it, step up. I’m a backup for the next fight and I’m fighting for the title next.”
Fortunately for ‘Durinho’, the journalists made the boss Dana White aware of his ultimatum. To many people’s surprise, White didn’t take Burns’ wish as a threat. In fact, the 53-year-old made a verbal pact with him. Speaking upon Gilbert’s recent offer, Dana said, “I love that. Yeah, I love that. Why not? Deal. You’ve got a deal.”
“You’ve got a deal”: Dana White responds to Gilbert Burns’ title shot ultimatum after his #UFC287 win.
Full video: https://t.co/vTg1UmEty9 pic.twitter.com/VcFBIYJoNp
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) April 9, 2023
A few weeks ago, Dana declared Colby Covington as next in line for the gold. It would surely be interesting to see Burns stepping on the scales as a backup fighter for the next welterweight title fight. What do you guys make of the recent offer Gilbert put on the table? Let us know in the comments down below.
