"He's the No.1 guy I want to beat up"- Gilbert Burns on Colby Covington

Top UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns already has plans in place for his first title defense after hopefully beating reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman when the pair square off later this year.

Gilbert Burns plans to capture the coveted welterweight gold from Kamaru Usman and then defend it against Colby Covington. Gilbert Burns is currently in Las Vegas to corner his brother Herbert for a fight at UFC 252 against Daniel Pineda, and in a recent interview with The Schmo, the Brazilian welterweight revealed his plans for the future.

“He’s on my list,” Burns said of Covington (h/t Bloody Elbow). “I’ve got a list of guys that I want to fight, and he’s the No. 1. It’s personal,” Burns added. “He’s the No. 1 guy that I want to beat up. That’s my plan. As soon as I become champion—I’m not being cocky, I just believe that I will become champion—Colby Covington is right there to get his a** whooped.”

Gilbert Burns further said that not only would he love to personally inflict hurt on Covington inside the cage, he's also going to be rooting for former opponent Tyron Woodley if and when the latter goes up against Covington in a potential fight that has been a subject of wild speculation lately.

“I hope Tyron Woodley gets his cardio good, gets his mental [game] together,” Burns said. “He needs to be strong mentally going into that fight. I hope Tyron Woodley wins,” he added. “I’m never going to [root for] Colby Covington. I’m always going to be against Colby Covington.”

Gilbert Burns was initially expected to fight Kamaru Usman with the UFC welterweight title on the line at UFC 251 in in Abu Dhabi, but had to later pull out of the bout when he tested positive for COVID-19. Gilbert was replaced by Jorge Masvidal, who took the fight on six days' notice and ended up losing to Usman by decision.