Gilbert Burns is set to fight Jorge Masvidal – but it might not necessarily be the most competitive fight.
Burns is just coming off a big win at UFC 287 against 13th-ranked Neil Magny in the Welterweight division
After the first-round submission victory, the 36-year-old called out number two-ranked Colby Covington in the post-fight Octagon interview.
Instead, UFC President Dana White gave him Jorge Masvidal, who has continued to slip down the rankings.
Masvidal has lost three of his last fights either by unanimous decision or knockout.
While two of those came against long-time division champ Kamaru Usman, they weren’t competitive fights.
And it won’t be much easier for Masvidal this time easier, as Burns is right up there with the top contenders.
While Burns recently lost to the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev, it was a competitive close fight.
And Burns’ strong jiu-jitsu and the grappling game will likely be too much for Masvidal to handle.
But there is a reason that the UFC made this fight – and that’s because Masvidal sells fights.
In fact, he earned praise from White after helping create 1.3 million pay-per-view buys from his first fight with Usman.
“I said it to you guys the other night, when you put on a fight, a successful promotion of an event, it’s a big melting pot of different thing,” he said.
“‘Fight Island’ was a massive star in this thing. Masvidal is a massive star.”
And Masvidal will be on the UFC 287 card that will headline the rematch of Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira to add more hype and name recognition to it.
Kevin Holland will be another big name that’s on the card.
The event will take place on April 8, with the location of the fight still yet to be determined.
