Khamzat Chimaev believes Gilbert Burns will never get his hands on the UFC welterweight title because he doesn’t have the attitude of a champion.
Chimaev was pushed to the limit by Burns at UFC 273, where he managed to win by unanimous decision, and will now face Nate Diaz in the UFC 279 main event in September. The Brazilian has offered to serve as a backup in case of a pullout. ‘Durinho’ has on a number of occasions called for a rematch against ‘Borz’, promising to do a lot better if given the opportunity.
Khamzat Chimaev On Gilbert Burns
During a recent appearance on MMA Fighting’s The MMA Hour, Chimaev claimed that Burns was a nobody before he fought him.
“I made him famous,” Chimaev said. “The guy was nothing before me. I made him famous, and he lost the fight, he was more happy. I was angry after that fight — I won the fight. I was angry because I didn’t finish that guy. I don’t understand some guys become happy when they lost the fight. He’s going everywhere doing interviews, [saying ‘I’m] going to fight with him again.’ Yeah, we’re going to fight, whenever he wants. But he will never be champ, because if you’re happy when you lost a fight, you’re never going to be champ. … He said, ‘Five rounds, I can win that fight.’ If you look at him the last seconds of the fight, if he can fight five rounds, why did he look at the time, running from me? I was running after him the last two minutes, I was tired. If it was two more rounds, I would finish him.”
What do you make of Khamzat Chimaev’s comments?