Gilbert Burns welcomes grappling challenge from BJJ black belt Sean Brady and previews “tough” main event clash at UFC Vegas 97

Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady are scheduled to clash in the main event of UFC Vegas 97 on Sept. 8. Both Burns and Brady are known to be excellent grapplers, and both men hold Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts.

Ahead of the fight, 'Durinho' has seemingly welcomed the challenge of grappling with the American, and testing where his ground game stands. After suffering his first career defeat to Belal Muhammad at UFC 280, Brady bounced back with a submission win over former interim title challenger, Kelvin Gastelum at UFC on ESPN 52.

Burns, however, has suffered two defeats in his previous two outings - a decision loss to Belal Muhammad, and a TKO loss to surging contender Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 299.

Ahead of the bout, 'Durinho' was interviewed by Michael Bisping, where he said:

"I like it, to be honest. If he wants to grapple, let's grapple. He's a black belt from Daniel Gracie, a lot of respect to Daniel Gracie. [Brady] is tough, I'm not gonna [play him down], the guy is tough... I respect him, but I like the matchup. When they said his name, I liked it very much."

Watch Gilbert Burns' interview below (1:05):

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Gilbert Burns speculates that Leon Edwards was injured against Belal Muhammad

Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad faced off in a welterweight title fight at UFC 304, with 'Rocky' hoping to successfully defend his title for a third time.

The pair previously faced off in the main event of UFC Vegas 21, where Edwards was dominating his opponent until 'Remember The Name' suffered a brutal eye-poke in Round 2 that forced the referee to call a halt to the bout.

Many expected Edwards to have the upper hand in their rematch, but Muhammad showcased the best performance of his career to dominate 'Rocky' and win the bout via unanimous decision.

Gilbert Burns believes that the former champion may have been injured entering the fight, and during his aforementioned interview with Michael Bisping, said:

"I think Leon got a couple of injuries. I don't know exactly what it was, but he didn't look ready and Belal looked on point. The guy looked super hungry, especially knowing that [the UFC] didn't want to give [Muhammad] the title shot." [9:45-10:06 in Gilbert Burns' aforementioed interview]