Gilbert Burns hoping momentum will ensure victory over Kamaru Usman
You can’t blame Gilbert Burns for being in a confident mood ahead of his UFC 258 showdown with Kamaru Usman. After all, he has won three fights on the bounce to set up the chance of taking on the Nigerian, and with success comes a huge amount of belief. There is, of course, a line between confidence and arrogance, but the nature of the UFC is such that those lines frequently become blurred – these fighters are in the entertainment business, after all.
Usman is a huge test for Burns, though. The ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ has a record of 17 wins and 1 defeat, with that solitary loss coming in just his second professional bout – way back in 2013. Burns’ record is less dominant overall, but that will not dent the confidence of the Brazilian, who has won six fights in a row and is the underdog in the latest odds on Burns vs Usman.
In fact, Burns is adamant that he will get the better of Usman before the end of five rounds. “I see a finish,” he said. “I just can see a finish. I’m very dangerous. I got good weapons. I’m making sure everything is getting sharp. The last two weeks until the day of the fight I’m going to make sure everything is in control. Everything that I can control I will control. I’m going to sharpen every single tool that I have, and I believe I will be the one that will finish Kamaru on February 13th. I don’t know (when), but inside the three or four rounds I think will be able to get a finish.”
It’s Burns’ momentum in the UFC that has given him this belief, and he has proved himself to be in fine form over the last couple of years. Many will point to Usman’s record as superior, but winning has simply been the norm for the Nigerian throughout his career. Burns knows what it’s like to go through a stuttering phase, where every step forward is met with another step back. This greater appreciation of victory, and perhaps greater desire to extend his winning run, could well set him up for victory against Usman at UFC 258.
Since a first-round defeat to Dan Hooker in July 2018 at UFC 226, Burns has won half a dozen fights on the spin, with victories over Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Mike Davis, Alexey Kunchenko, Gunnar
Nelson, Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley. Within that run was a switch from the lightweight to the welterweight division, and Burns is set to take on Usman at welterweight level too.
He’s taking on the very best there is in the division, with Usman having held the UFC Welterweight Championship since he defeated Woodley in March 2019 to win the belt. Usman is a fearsome competitor, and a true artist in the octagon, but Burns will not be fazed by the task on his hands in defeating him. Stranger things have happened, after all.
To some, Burns’ confidence may seem misplaced, that it is simply smoke and mirrors ahead of fight that Usman is bound to win. But every now and then a fighter’s pre-bout assertions prove to be more than just mind games, and you get the sense that Burns believes with every fibre of his being that he will defeat Usman on February 13th.
