Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns is the right fight to make, former two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titleholder Daniel Cormier says.
UFC fans have been salivating over who to pair Chimaev with after his steamrolling of Li Jingliang (watch highlights) at UFC 267, which took place inside Etihad Area in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. on Sat., Oct. 30. Cormier suggests Chiamaev (10-0) should battle the welterweight division’s second-ranked contender Burns (20-4).
“For Khamzat Chimaev? It’s time to give him one of the higher-ranked guys,” Cormier said on the “DC & RC” podcast (h/t MMA Junkie). “And I think a guy that could be good for him is Gilbert Burns. Because Gilbert Burns has a well-rounded skill set, he’s a great wrestler, he’s a great jiu-jitsu guy, his standup has improved, and he’s back. Right?
“So he lost the title fight to Kamaru [Usman] but then he beat Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson in his last fight and showed that he’s back on the winning track, so that makes sense for [Chimaev]”.
Burns bounced back from a failed bid for the UFC Welterweight title by beating Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson via unanimous decision at UFC 264 on July 10.
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