Gilbert Burns confident he will finish Belal Muhammad at UFC 288: ‘I’m putting this guy away’
Gilbert Burns vows to finish Belal Muhammad at UFC 288.
Burns and Muhammad are set to fight on short notice in the co-main event of the pay-per-view event on May 6 in Newark in a five-round scrap. It’s a massive fight for the welterweight division as the winner could very well get the next title shot and for Burns he said he wanted this fight and for five rounds is because he thinks he can finish Muhammad.
“Because now I can get a finish,” Burns said to Submission Radio. “If I want to solidify myself as the No. 1 contender, I’ve got to take this guy out. I’ve been asking for five rounds, even with the Chimaev fight, with the Jorge (Masvidal) fight, with the Neil Magny fight I asked for five rounds. They didn’t give it to me. But this time he asked, as well. So when he asked for it, I said now we’re doing five rounds.”
Although Muhammad has been durable throughout his career, Gilbert Burns believes his power and grappling ability will be too much as he is confident he will finish Muhammad at UFC 288.
“With Belal Muhammad, I’m putting this guy away,” Burns said. “I don’t care how many rounds it takes, but I’m putting this guy out of there. There is no way he’s going 25 minutes with me. So that’s the main reason to go five rounds, just to put this guy out and get a finish.”
Burns is coming off a decision win over Jorge Masvidal at UFC 287 and is already fighting for the third time this year after defeating Neil Magny at UFC 283. The Brazilian is currently ranked fifth at welterweight while Muhammad is ranked fourth and despite that, these two decided to take this fight on short notice to try and get the next title shot.
