Dana White has implied that the winner of Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273 is likely next in line for a world title fight.
A bout between Chimaev and Burns had been rumored for several weeks prior to being confirmed by Dana White last week on The Underground. And yesterday, the UFC officially announced the fight during the UFC 272 broadcast.
Burns and Chimaev will be meeting next month at UFC 273, and from the sounds of it, there could be a lot riding on the fight.
Speaking to reporters during the UFC 272 post-fight press conference, White said that it “makes sense” for the winner of Chimaev and Burns to receive a world title shot.
Burns already had a shot at Kamaru Usman last year at UFC 258, with Usman defeating his ex-teammate via TKO. Meanwhile, Chimaev has already put Usman on notice that he expects to be sharing the Octagon with him in the future.
Chimaev has yet to face even the slightest waft of adversity during his remarkable UFC start, only being hit with one significant strike in four fights. The phenom currently has a professional MMA record of 10-0.
Gilbert Burns is ranked #2 at welterweight and has won seven of his last eight fights. As a welterweight, Burns is 6-1, with each bout taking place in the UFC. The lone loss was the aforementioned one to reigning champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 258 last year.
If the winner does become the #1 contender, that does not necessarily mean they will challenge Kamaru Usman. This is because Usman is expected to defend against Leon Edwards this summer. In fact, should Edwards unseat Usman, the Burns/Chimaev winner may have to wait their turn after a potential Edwards/Usman rematch under this scenario.
That said, if Chimaev does to Gilbert Burns what he’s done to all others put in his path, it seems quite possible that Borz could eat up Edwards’ spot as the next challenger for Usman’s crown.
With Burns/Chimaev now 100% official, the updated UFC 273 lineup is as follows:
Featherweight Championship Bout: Alexander Volkanovski © vs. The Korean Zombie
Bantamweight Championship Bout: Aljamain Sterling © vs. Petr Yan
Gilbert Burns vs. Khamzat Chimaev
Mackenzie Dern vs. Tecia Torres
Kelvin Gastelum vs. Nassourdine Imavov
Irene Aldana vs. Aspen Ladd
Ian Garry vs. Darian Weeks
Chris Curtis vs. Dricus Du Plessis
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Marcin Tybura
Albert Duraev vs. Anthony Hernandez
Mickey Gall vs. Mike Malott
Pat Sabatini vs. Gavin Tucker
Julio Arce vs. Daniel Santos
Mark Madsen vs. Vinc Pichel
Kay Hansen vs. Piera Rodriguez
Who do you predict will win between Gilbert Burns and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273?
