Inside the Octagon: The Rivalry and Respect Between Gilbert Burns and Belal Muhammad
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Gilbert Burns is one of the most exciting welterweights on the planet today. The Brazilian puts on entertaining fights; he can beat anyone on his day. Burns will return to action at UFC 299 and take on Jack Della Maddalena. If he wins, then Burns will be right back in the title hunt. There is a lot of tension between Burns and fellow contender Belal Muhammad. The Brazilian talks about that relationship in a recent interview.
Gilbert Burns Believes Muhammad Deserves A Title Shot
Burns and Muhammad went toe to toe at UFC 288 in a great fight. Muhammad won that contest. He will now challenge Leon Edwards for the welterweight title. Both fighters are very respectful, which makes it surprising that there is bad blood between them. Even though they don't get on, Burn still thinks his former opponent deserves a title shot. Speaking to Renato Moicano, Burns explains why he feels this way.
"Belal Muhammad deserves to fight for the title," Burns said. "The guy has a crazy winning streak... I have something like, the guy beat me, I got hurt, you know? And then he was talking so much, but I shouldn't have said it the way I did, you know? I apologize; he does deserve the title shot, even though I don't like the guy very much."
They Don’t Like Each Other
Burns then went on to talk about why he's not a fan of Muhammad.
"Because I lost to the guy," Burns explained. "I was injured, the guy was kind of like 'Oh, I beat Gilbert Burns in this way on short notice'... I don't hate anyone, and I don't like him because he was saying too much. But I wish the guy the best, you know?"
Quotes via MMA News
Burns is a great fighter, and seeing how he fares at UFC 299 will be interesting. If he wins, he could make another run for the title.