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DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – Gilbert Burns expects the same result between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal but a different fight.
Welterweight champion Usman (18-1 MMA, 13-0 UFC) rematches Masvidal (35-14 MMA, 12-7 UFC) in the main event of UFC 261 on Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla.
In their first outing last July at UFC 251, Masvidal stepped in on just six days’ notice to replace Burns, who was forced out of his title fight with Usman after testing positive for COVID-19.
Masvidal had a hefty weight cut ahead of him but managed to hit the championship limit and face Usman, who won a lopsided decision after he was able to wear out Masvidal and keep him down in the later rounds.
Burns (19-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) eventually got his shot at Usman at UFC 258 but fell short when he was stopped by the champ in Round 2. Having been in there with Usman, Burns has a good gauge of what his former training partner is capable of. He thinks that, while the weight cut certainly impacted Masvidal’s cardio in their first fight, the outcome will likely be the same at UFC 261.
Perhaps not as one-sided, though, since Masvidal will have had much longer to prepare.
“I don’t know. I think a lot of things will be different,” Burns told MMA Junkie on Monday. “Masvidal, for sure he’s in shape now, he’s in way better shape, no weight cut. People don’t understand that a hard weight cut on short notice, the weight cut is different. I did the short notice before, and I know how hard it is to do the weight cut.
“For sure it’s gonna be different. I think Masvidal felt Kamaru, he felt a lot of things, so did Kamaru. I think the fight will play a little different. I don’t know if the result is going to change, I don’t think it’ll change, but the fight is gonna be different.”
Burns will look to get back in title contention when he faces former two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson at UFC 264 in July. He agrees with Usman that the winner of Leon Edwards and Nate Diaz at UFC 262 should be next in line, but he’s hoping to get one step closer to another title shot with a win over “Wonderboy.”