Gilbert Burns will be facing No. 11-ranked Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 299. Yet, despite being at the higher rank, Burns knows that he’ll be meeting a “very tough” opponent in the octagon.
Burns is currently at UFC’s No. 4 in the welterweight, but the Brazilian doesn’t think of it as a huge advantage in facing Della Maddalena. In his recent interview on the JAXXON PODCAST, “Durinho” explained that the opponent is a skillful and aggressive boxer, making him a huge threat in the cage.
“This guy is very tough,” Burns said. “He’s 6-0 in the UFC. He’s got crazy knockouts, good boxer, heavy boxer – he’s not just a regular boxer. He rips the guys’ bodies. He comes forward kind of like (Paulo) Costa.
“He fights coming forward, rips the body – so the guy is a good (fighter). He’s that guy that is very tough, that is a little bit scary. I like that, when I feel like, ‘Oh, sh*t – if I’m not 100 percent, sh*t might get crazy.’”
Burns will have Della Maddalena after experiencing a unanimous decision defeat from Belal Muhammad in May. The fighter could have challenged anyone in the higher ranks. Yet, as the fighter noted, the names are unavailable now, including Colby Covington, who would need to rest after his defeat at UFC 296. Dave Lovell, Leon Edwards’ coach, expressed interest in Burns to fight the champ. However, Burns acknowledged that there are fighter ahead of him for that spot. Ultimately, Burns admitted that with his last defeat, he needed to redeem himself through any win he could obtain.
“Colby just fought. He’s not going to fight for a while,” Burns said. “Leon (Edwards) just won. Belal (Muhammad) is next. Kamaru (Usman) is not fighting right now.
“If we’re kind of looking for the numbers, a lot of guys that the number makes sense (to fight me), they’re not there. So, the way I see it, I’m coming from a loss. I’ve got to go in there and get a win, and then I’m in the conversation again.”
