Gilbert Burns is back in action. After a shoulder injury, he’s now fully recovered and plotting his return to the Octagon. He’s got a specific opponent in mind.
Burns, with a record of 22-6, suffered a decision loss against Belal Muhammad at UFC 288 in July. He seemed to damage his left hand early in the fight. But that’s not all. “Durinho” later severely injured his shoulder during training. This injury benched him for quite some time.
But, good news! The Brazilian fighter now claims to be fully recovered. He’s back to training and is raring to go. Burns told MMA Junkie, “I’m 100 percent and back to training. I’m in no pain and injury-free. I didn’t get surgery. I almost did. My ligament was barely hanging on my shoulder. My deltoid and my AC joint were very compromised, so I had to rest a lot.”
Burns is eyeing a return in March or April. He’s already been in touch with the UFC execs. However, he’s yet to be offered any potential opponents. He’s been asked to wait for the upcoming UFC 296, which has six ranked welterweights competing. Among them is Leon Edwards defending his title against former interim champ Colby Covington.
Muhammad was expected to get the next title shot after beating Burns. But, the promotion chose Covington. Burns is now eyeing a clash against Covington. He implied that he does not expect “Chaos” to beat Edwards. The 37-year-old said, “We talked to Hunter (Campbell) and we didn’t get options yet. No names yet they’re throwing at me, and they’re saying let’s wait until UFC 296 and after that we’ll talk about opponent.”
“But I kind of have a date,” Burns added. “I think I’m fighting March or April, UFC 299 or UFC 300. Both dates are good, but let’s see how UFC 296 plays out first, because one opponent I would really like to fight is Colby Covington. He is fighting for the title, so that’s not even a possibility. I have to wait for all that going on.”