"Even though I don’t like the guy very much" - Gilbert Burns apologizes to Belal Muhammad, changes tune on deserving title shot

Gilbert Burns recently issued an apology to Belal Muhammad after dismissing his 170-pound title bid.

Previously, in an interview with Middle Easy, Burns talked about the situation in the welterweight division and whether Muhammad, the No. 2 ranked contender, could challenge Leon Edwards for the title.

When asked if he was surprised by reports that the Edwards vs. Muhammad rematch may not be next, 'Durinho' responded:

“No, and I just knew. A friend of mine just called me and said hey, I know you know this but just to let you know if you didn't get hurt on your injury. It already happened, I'm not giving no excuses. But if you had beat Belal in your last fight you would've headlined freakin' UFC 300. You know that right?"

Burns continued:

''I'm like oh I never thought about it, but yeah you're probably right. But I lost, it is what it is. I kind of felt bad a little bit but it is what it is, you know, it's a show. I know the UFC gotta put the best fights and I don’t think honestly Belal Muhammad deserves to fight for the title.''

Check out Gilbert Burns' comments below:

In a recent interview with Renato Moicano on his YouTube channel, Burns retracted his statements and apologized to Muhammad, stating that he deserves a title shot. He said:

''I shouldn’t have said it the way I did, I apologize. I think he [Belal] does deserve the title. Even though I don’t like the guy very much because I lost to the guy, I was injured and he was like ‘I beat Gilbert Burns in this way, short notice’.”

Check out Gilbert Burns' comments below (5:44):

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Gilbert Burns previews his fight against Jack Della Maddalena

Gilbert Burns, a former welterweight title challenger, will return to the octagon on March 9, 2024, at UFC 299 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, against prospect Jack Della Maddalena.

Burns had this to say about his fight against Maddalena in the abovementioned interview (0:33):

''It's a tough fight. This guy is very tough. He is 6-0 in the UFC, 16-2, his whole career. Boxer, physically very strong. And that was the guy, they call me, they offered this guy and I said let's go. So yeah, tough dude, but I'm looking forward for this fight.''

Burns is coming off a loss to Belal Muhammad, while Maddalena is still unbeaten in the UFC, with his biggest win coming against Kevin Holland.