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Gilbert Burns is determined to prove he’s a world-class lightweight. To do that, though, he knows he must make an example of UFC newcomer Alex Oliveira at UFC Fight Night 62.
Burns was originally scheduled to meet longtime 155-pound stud Josh Thomson on Saturday’s card, which takes place at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanazinho Gymnasium and airs on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 2 and UFC Fight Pass.
Unfortunately, “The Punk” was forced to withdraw from the bout a little more than three weeks prior to the fight, and Oliveira (10-1-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) replaced him. To go from a former Strikeforce champion opponent to an unknown with zero UFC bouts is a large jump back for Burns (9-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC).
Burns had a huge opportunity to make an impact against a well-known fighter, but now he’s in the opposite role. That might fluster some athletes in his position, but Burns said it only added motivation to turn in a statement performance.
“I had been given a well-known, ranked, tough opponent – that fight was going to elevate my career to a new level,” Burns told MMAjunkie. “Now I get to face Alex ‘Cowboy’ instead. He has good experience in defeating very difficult opponents in Brazil. He has very good striking, and only one loss.
“It’s a good fight. I’m training hard. And I’m going to destroy him. I’m very focused. At first, I was bummed out for a couple of days due to the opponent change. But I’m not here to pick my opponents. I’ll destroy whoever they put in front of me.”
Burns is among the most highly touted fighters coming up the ranks in the UFC’s lightweight division. He’s finished all but one opponent inside the first round in his undefeated career and has the potential to make waves among the top fighters at 155 pounds.
Now training with the Blackzilians camp in Florida with the likes of Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans, Anthony Johnson and Michael Johnson, Burns has made proper career moves to eventually catapult into the elite. Burns’ training environment has been a key to his success so far and he doesn’t plan on making changes anytime soon.
“As always, I’ve been training at Blackzilians with Vitor Belfort,” Burns said. “He’s a great friend. I’ve also been working with coach Henri Hooft and all the other fighters here like Michael Johnson and Eddie Alvarez. They move very well. Tyrone Spong is like an older brother. He helps me a lot. Rashad Evans has also been actively helping.”
Since the day Thomson officially withdrew from the bout, Burns made it clear he believes the American purposefully avoided an encounter with him. Whether or not that’s true remains unknown, but Burns hasn’t given up on the idea of fighting Thomson.
Despite the fact he’s a massive betting favorite, Burns said he refuses to underestimate his opponent. What he does want to do, though, is put an exclamation mark on a victory.
“I’m well prepared and very confident and I’m giving my all to get this victory,” Burns said. “Pressure is a constant. There’s pressure when fighting for a belt, when defending a belt, when coming off a loss or a victory. It’s always there. I don’t worry about that too much. I just focus on having my best performance.
“Confidence comes from preparation. And I’m very confident from training with the Blackzilians. It’s a high-level training camp. I have many partners who can emulate ‘Cowboy’s’ game. I’m going to destroy him. I’m going to prove that I did deserve to face Josh Thomson.”
For more on UFC Fight Night 62, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
Filed under: News, UFC, Videos
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