Gilbert Burns has gone through a murderer’s row at welterweight.
At 37 years old, the #4 ranked UFC contender continues to test himself against the best in the world. Having spent almost a decade in the Octagon, Burns has fought the likes of Kamaru Usman, Tyron Woodley, Khamzat Chimaev and other big names like Jorge Masvidal.
Who Stands Above The Rest?
In a career composed of fighting top competition, Burns says there is one fighter that challenged him like no other. That’d be striking specialist Stephen Thompson, who he ended up beating in hard-fought decision at UFC 264.
“Sh*t, I fought Masvidal, Usman, Khamzat— Wonderboy was freaking tough,” Burns said on The Jaxxon Podcast. “I gotta take this guy down. The guy was fast. He’s fast. I was lucky that I was training with this guy because those guys are so fast. But the thing with him was the footwork.
“Whenever I was getting the distance, ‘oh, he’s there’. Whenever it was just, let me just feint 2 jabs, and then throw a right hand. When I did this, the guy was so far already. And if I commit one more, he came in, he was out again. Oh my god.”
Burns’ grappling and pressure would be the key to defeating the super-sonic Thompson in their three-round affair. But, the win wouldn’t come without a little adversity on the feet first.
“I remember, took him down, did good, controlling him was easier than I thought, and then the guy threw me a spinning kick out of nowhere, bro. I lost my left leg for a little bit. My knee went down. Oh my god. I remember I closed everything and I was expecting him come and throw bombs on me. When I cover up, I don’t know. I think he was trying to get a better shot. He was trying to meet the swing. He step back and throw it again. But whenever I get close, he’s just touching me. Then I was just like, f*ck that and then I went forward.
“It was a good fight but Wonderboy I think is very good.”
While ‘Wonderboy’ didn’t get his hand raised against Gilbert Burns, at least he can say he received some major props from his former foe.
