Ben Askren has weighed in on the UFC 287 matchup between Jorge Masvidal and Gilbert Burns.
In July 2019, Askren’s career was turned upside down when Masvidal landed an unforgettable flying knee knockout in five seconds. Since then, ‘Funky’ has been weirdly connected to the Miami native. Therefore, Daniel Cormier invited the former Bellator world champion to a podcast to discuss the upcoming welterweight bout between ‘Gamebred’ and Burns.
During the video posted on Cormier’s YouTube channel, Askren had this to say when asked if he thinks Masvidal can beat ‘Durinho’:
“No. That’s why he’s been saying no to [Gilbert] Burns ‘cause he doesn’t think he’s gonna win either. DC, you know how most of these dudes work. If they think, I can beat that dude up, they say yes easy. If they think they can’t then they say no. That’s how they work.”
Burns is looking to ride the momentum of his UFC 283 win against Neil Magny into the UFC 287 co-main event. Meanwhile, Masvidal has lost three consecutive fights, two against Kamaru Usman and one against Colby Covington, but could find himself fighting for the welterweight title again with a win against ‘Durinho.’
Watch Ben Askren and Daniel Cormier discuss Gilbert Burns vs. Jorge Masvidal below:
Ben Askren believes Jorge Masvidal will earn a title shot by beating Gilbert Burns
The UFC welterweight division has an unknown future outside of Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman fighting for the world championship at UFC 286. Therefore, the winner between Jorge Masvidal and Gilbert Burns could be the next 170-pound title contender.
During the same YouTube video, Ben Askren had this to say when asked if Masvidal would earn a title shot with a win at UFC 287:
“Oh yeah, over Gilbert Burns? That’s for sure. I mean [Khamzat] Chimaev, [Belal] Muhammad, and Colby [Covington] are kind of wild cards ‘cause we don’t know what’s gonna happen next with them, but Gilbert Burns is top of this division for sure, and if Masvidal can beat him, then yeah, I think he would be fighting for the title next.”
Colby Covington is the number two-ranked welterweight after Usman. With that said, he might not be fighting until his lawsuit against Masvidal is settled. Following Covington is Khamzat Chimaev at number three, but he might be moving up to middleweight. Last but not least, Belal Muhammad continues to be somewhat overlooked, so it’s unclear what’s next for him.
All eyes will be on Burns vs. Masvidal, with the next welterweight title shot potentially on the line.
