The Chopping Block: Burns vs. Masvidal
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Gilbert Burns is 14-5 in the UFC coming in against Jorge Masvidal who is 12-9 in the UFC.
Out of all of Jorge Masvidal’s UFC opponents, only two of them he holds wins over, are still current UFC fighters. Those two men are #13 Ranked Michael Chiesa and currently unranked Tim Means. Both of these wins were not only a decade ago in 2013, but also a weight class lower. It’s also worth mentioning that Jorge hasn’t seen a win inside of the UFC Octagon since 2019 over Nate Diaz, Ben Askren, and Darren Till who have all since been cut from the roster.
Across from him will stand Gilbert Burns who just got a win over #12 ranked Neil Magny in January. Before this, he took part in a fight of the year candidate against Khamzat Chimaev, ultimately losing a close decision. His only two losses at 170lbs have come from Khamzat, and the previous champion Kamaru Usman. This could ultimately be Gilbert’s shot at working his way back up to a title shot and possibly being able to pry the belt from Leon Edwards.
Battle-Tested
Both men have come from the UFC lightweight division and moved up into the welterweight division. With both men having seen their ups and downs inside of the welterweight division, it looks to be Gilbert Burns has found more consistency and success within the division.
Some are convinced that Jorge Masvidal has been gifted many of his recent chances, off of the wings of his viral flying knee KO over Ben Askren.
However, whether you hold the fastest KO in UFC history or not, you can’t go 4 years without a single win, and still get top ranked opponents. That means this fight is very much make or break for “Gamebred”. On the feet, we’ve seen Burns get KO’d by Dan Hooker and Kamaru Usman.
With that in mind, Jorge’s last five wins across the last seven years have all come by way of KO/TKO. This is very much a fight where both men stand a lot to gain, and maybe more to lose.
Paths To Victory
Jorge Masvidal will look to utilize his footwork and quick blitzing style movement to set up explosive striking from the outside. While doing this it’s important that he keeps his hands low and his body ready to sprawl at a moments notice due to the inevitable takedown threat that Gilbert presents.
Burns will need to avoid the explosive bursts forward and if he is able to duck under one of these bursts/punches, he could set him up perfectly for an easy takedown. Once on top, Burns will need to do what anyone not named “Kamaru Usman” has had an incredibly hard time doing… Stay on top.
While Gilbert Burns could still very much go on another title run following a loss to Jorge Masvidal, the same can’t be said for Jorge. Masvidal himself has hinted at this being the last run for the title for himself during the UFC Countdown episode.
“This could be the last one,” Masvidal said. “If I lose, I’m pretty much calling it quits. But a win against Gilbert means that things are headed in the right direction. So if I roll the dice and I do everything right, I’m going for it all. For one title, or many titles.”
We will see what’s next for Jorge Masvidal… Either way the fans should win this Saturday, as this fight promises to be fireworks.
Who do you have in the co-main event this weekend? Let us know in the comments below!
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