Gilbert Burns believes ‘Badass’ Ian Machado Garry will land UFC championship: ‘There’s new blood coming’
Gilbert Burns is certain that Ian Garry has what it takes to be a UFC champion one day.
Standing at 13-0 and currently riding a six-fight win streak in the UFC, Garry has been a dominant young force in the welterweight division. He was most recently in action at UFC 292 where he faced Neil Magny and made easy work of the versatile veteran. Now, he’s looking to face Stephen Thompson, and a win against that caliber of opponent would see him very close to if not ready for a title shot.
Burns was recently on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast and shared his thoughts about the prospects of the young Irishman Ian Garry.
“I think so — in a few years, yes,” Burns said when asked if he sees Garry holding the UFC welterweight title one day (H/T MMA Fighting). “He’s a great kid, 25 years old. This kid is a badass. Before the fight, he said he would do all that — he pretty much called the entire fight beforehand, and pulled it off.”
Gilbert Burns speaks about the dangerous young talent inside the welterweight division
“I think Shavkat (Rakhmonov) is really good, too,” Burns continued. “There’s also Jack Della Maddalena, a tough kid who’s coming up. There’s this Venezuelan kid, Michael Morales, an undefeated kid. Gabriel Bonfim too, a nasty kid. There’s new blood coming.”
(Stephen Thompson) ‘Wonderboy’ needs to pay attention,” Gilbert Burns warned. “Older fighters need to pay attention. Neil Magny just lost badly. They need to reinvent themselves otherwise it won’t be good for them, brother.”
Currently rehabbing a shoulder injury that was sustained in his fight with Belal Muhammad, Burns is still confident that he’s got the fire to compete in what is quickly becoming the UFC’s most competitive division.
“…I’ve been knocked out, TKO’d, knocked down, but there were many fights where I wasn’t any (of those),” Gilbert Burns continued. I have good jiu-jitsu and I can use that too. I’m healthy, I’m fine, and I’m hungry to fight. I’ll only leave (MMA) if I lose three or four in a row and badly, getting knocked out. Then, I’m out. But I’m fighting. If I’m still doing it, I’ll keep doing it for years.
“I train with all of those guys. I just trained with Kamaru (Usman), and did some positions with Ian Garry. When Shavkat and all of these guys come here, I train with all of them. I can fight at the highest level. When I start getting smashed and no longer enjoying training, when I’m too tired for this, then it’s time. But I’m hungry to train now, man. I’m like a maniac now for not being able to train because of my shoulder.”
Who do you want to see Gilbert Burns fight when he makes a UFC return, and what do you think about his comments towards Ian Garry?
