Gilbert Burns would like to apologize to Belal Muhammad.
How It All Started
Despite being unbeaten in his last 10 fights, not everybody thinks the #2 ranked Muhammad should be next in line for UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards. ‘Durinho’ was one fighter who shared that exact belief.
“I don’t think honestly Belal Muhammad deserves to fight for the title, but honestly I’m not intrigued,” Burns told Middle Easy last month, citing the UFC has to put on the ‘best fights’ possible.
This came after Muhammad was reportedly jumped in the title conversation with the UFC brass offering title opportunities at UFC 300 to three different opponents, none of which were ‘Remember The Name’ ironically enough.
‘I Think Belal Muhammad Deserves To Fight For The Title’
Burns did take some heat for his comments, especially given the fact he lost to Muhammad by unanimous decision at UFC 288 in May. With time to reflect, the former title challenger has rescinded the notion that his past opponent was undeserving of a title fight.
“I think Belal Muhammad deserves to fight for the title. For the numbers, he deserves. The guy has crazy win streak [of] 10 fights. I think he deserves,” Burns said on Renato Moicano’s YouTube channel.
“To be honest, I just have something that I’m like, the guy beat me. I got hurt and then he was talking so much. But, I shouldn’t say the way I did. I apologize. I think he does deserve the title shot even though I don’t like the guy very much— because I lost [to] the guy. I was injured and the guy was kinda like, ‘Oh, I beat Gilbert Burns this way, short notice’.
“I don’t hate anyone,” Burns cleared up regarding Muhammad. “I just don’t like him very much because he was saying too much. But, I wish the guy the best. I do believe he deserves that other shot. I don’t know if the UFC gonna give him or not because Dana just say, ‘Oh, we ask the 3 different opponents, and the guy is supposed to be the number one contender’. That way, they don’t give to the guy. But my opinion, I want him to fight for the title.
Will Hard Work Pay Off?
Belal Muhammad certainly has the case for a UFC title shot and Gilbert Burns is starting to see that now, saying:
“I think he deserves [after] a lot of hard work. He beat me. He beat Luque. He beat couple good contenders. I think I think he deserves. He’s not my favorite guy to watch, but he at the end of the day, he’s still getting the win. He does a good job.”
Does Belal Muhammad ‘deserve’ to fight Leon Edwards next or will the UFC Welterweight get swept under the rug for another contender?
