The first UFC title match of 2021 will take place on 14th February at the Apex facility in Las Vegas. Kamaru Usman (17-1) will put his UFC Welterweight title on the line against Brazilian contender Gilbert Burns (19-3) in the main event of UFC 258. It is a long-awaited fight as they were both scheduled to face each other in July but Covid-19 delayed the plans.
Burns was booked to fight for the title but he was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus days before the event and the match-up had to be postponed. Jorge Masvidal stepped in for Burns but lost the fight to Usman by unanimous decision.
Burns again gets the chance to become a UFC champion as he will fight former teammate Usman in the Octagon. Before the big event, Burns talked to Hindustan Times’ Yash Bhati and said that there is an advantage he might have due to his training experience with Usman.
“I know a lot of his weakness from training. But he knows a lot of mine too. The difference is a lot of training partners that I train with, know him very well and helped me to get prepare and coaches too. Not only me who knows his game but a lot of guys training also know. He knows about me and I know about him. But my teammates and coaches know, that’s a big difference,” Burns said.
Usman can change his styles for fights against different opponents. In his last two fights, we saw Usman engage in a striking battle with Colby Covington while he drained out Masvidal with his superior wrestling skills at UFC 251. Burns has also taken note of it and is ready for any surprises Usman brings to the table on Feb 14th.
{{/usCountry}}Usman can change his styles for fights against different opponents. In his last two fights, we saw Usman engage in a striking battle with Colby Covington while he drained out Masvidal with his superior wrestling skills at UFC 251. Burns has also taken note of it and is ready for any surprises Usman brings to the table on Feb 14th.
{{/usCountry}}“I hope he has the strategy that he had with Colby against me. That is only striking. But if he goes with the Masvidal strategy like put me against the cage and wrestle me, I am ready for that too. I am ready for the best and ready for the worst. I am very excited to test myself against Kamaru and against those positions he is good at. If he tries to take me down or put me against the cage, I have got a couple of traps for that too,” said Burns.
Daniel Cormier had commented that Usman would not have won against Burns if he put in the same performance as he did against Masvidal in July. So does Burns also feels the same?
‘The way he fought Masvidal, if he had done the same, I would have finished off the fight. But it didn’t happen. It is hard to say now. But I believe I am better right now and I am very confident going into this fight,’ he concluded.
(Watch UFC 258 – Usman Vs Burns on February 14, 2021, LIVE and Exclusive on Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 3 (Hindi) channels from 8:30 AM IST)