"It's gonna be a tough fight for Belal" - John McCarthy confident Gilbert Burns is a bad matchup for Muhammad

Gilbert Burns is the No. 4-ranked UFC welterweight, and he may be on a collision course with No. 5-ranked Belal Muhammad. Former MMA referee John McCarthy recently put forth his take on a potential fight between the two top-tier 170-pound fighters.

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman is expected to defend his title against No. 2-ranked Leon Edwards. Dana White hinted that the UFC will look to book No. 3-ranked Khamzat Chimaev against No. 1-ranked Colby Covington.

On the Weighing In podcast, Josh Thomson noted that Gilbert Burns could possibly be matched up against Belal Muhammad. Co-host John McCarthy concurred and said:

“You could say Burns and Belal – That could definitely be it. It’s gonna be a tough fight for Belal.”

Josh Thomson noted that Muhammad’s most recent fight – a unanimous decision win over Vicente Luque – was also a tough fight for him. Luque had beaten Muhammad via first-round KO in their first fight at UFC 205 in November 2016.

Their rematch transpired earlier this month and witnessed Muhammad utilize a grappling-heavy approach to neutralize Luque, a dangerous striker. McCarthy responded by insinuating that while Muhammad used his superior grappling to defeat Luque on the ground, he may not be able to do the same against a multi-time BJJ world champion like Gilbert Burns. McCarthy said:

“Yeah, the big difference between a guy that wants to be on the ground [Burns] and a guy that doesn’t [Luque]. Again, I thought Belal fought a very smart fight, did great, but he’s gonna have some difficulty with Burns on the ground.”

Watch John McCarthy address a possible Burns-Muhammad matchup in the video below:

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Gilbert Burns is open to fights against Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, and Jorge Masvidal next

'Durinho' is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Khamzat Chimaev in a highly-entertaining fight that transpired at UFC 273 on April 9. Burns later appeared on ESPN MMA's show DC & RC and revealed that he’d like a big fight next.

Burns named Nate Diaz and Nick Diaz as possible opponents on his radar. Noting that he’s also willing to face BMF champion Jorge Masvidal, the Brazilian said:

"I want a big fight, you know. Maybe, I know that name is always on the back of my head, it's freaking Nate Diaz. Still got one more fight in the UFC. I can put it on the contract that I'm not gonna shoot that guy that we just going to be on a stand-up. Maybe his brother Nick. I don't know, maybe Masvidal."

Watch the episode below: