Gilbert Burns doesn’t want to talk about what a win over Stephen Thompson could mean for his chances at another Ultimate Fighting Championship title opportunity. His focus is in the now, and the second-ranked welterweight has a goal in mind at UFC 264. Get the type of win that can change Dana White and matchmakers’ ‘perspective’ on the welterweight title picture in the near future.
Gilbert Burns out to change matchmaking perspectives at UFC 264
“Dana said Colby’s next, but a couple of months ago Dana said he wants Colby [Covington] against Leon [Edwards]. That’s the fight to make. And then Colby said no, and now Colby’s next without having another fight. I think you can change Dana’s perspective of the next fight with a good performance,” Burns told Yahoo Sports in a new interview. “I think you can change a lot of his thoughts and his plans with a great performance. That’s one thing I want to do. I know I can change a lot of people’s perspectives with a good performance.”
When a fighter reaches the upper echelon of a division’s rankings, pondering what it will take to get a title shot is understandable. Burns admits he did the same as he worked his way up to a failed bid to dethrone former teammate, and current welterweight king Kamaru Usman in February. The 34-year-old feels he wasted too much mental energy on something he could not control. Now, he plans on focusing all that energy on solving the 170-pound puzzle that is “Wonderboy” Thompson on Saturday night, inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
“If you win it’s a big step forward. If you lose, it’s two or three steps back. Especially at that level right now in the UFC,” said Burns. “I’m No. 2 in the world right now. If No. 1 doesn’t want to fight, I fight No. 3. If No. 3 doesn’t want to fight, I fight No. 4, and I keep going like that. [Thompson’s] a very tough opponent, but to be honest I’m not looking past this. I’m not looking if I beat him, or maybe one more fight to the title shot. I think I did that too much [in the past] and it didn’t help. I don’t want to put a lot of energy on [those thoughts].”
Burns (19-4) won six straight before his setback to Usman at UFC 258. His bout with Thompson will be the co-main event on the UFC 264 main card, which kicks off at 10 pm ET exclusively on ESPN+ pay-per-view. The early prelims begin at 6:15 pm ET on UFC Fight Pass, then switch to ESPN and ESPN+ at 8 pm ET.
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