Gilbert Burns has dismissed Khamzat Chimaev's claims of being affected after speaking to 'Durinho's' children. The Brazilian claims Chimaev never had a word with his children.
During a recent episode of The DC & RC Show, Burns revealed that he had tried his best not to let the rivalry get personal against 'Borz'. Also dismissing Chimaev's claims, the 35-year-old said:
"Even he's [Chimaev] saying, 'Oh, his kids talk to me.' My kids never talked to him, never."
Watch Burns's appearance on The DC&RC show below:
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Khamzat Chimaev fought Gilbert Burns in an all-out war at UFC 273 going the distance for the first time in his career. The bout was awarded the Fight of the Night and Burns walked home with a winning bonus despite the loss.
Interestingly, Chimaev later claimed that fighting Burns was a bit difficult after a chance encounter with the Brazilian's kids.
Chimaev told the UFC in a post-fight interview:
“It actually was a little bit hard to fight him because I see his kids. They come to me [and say] ‘you fight my daddy’ and I said ‘s**t’, I don’t need that. I don’t want to fight with some daddy. I need some killer like me, who will kill somebody and don’t care about that s**t.”
"That fight was very winnable" - Gilbert Burns disappointed with loss to Khamzat Chimaev in UFC 273 slugfest
Despite receiving the deserved credit after his stellar performance, Gilbert Burns is disappointed with his loss to Khamzat Chimaev. The former title contender believes that the closely contested decision could easily have swayed in his favor.
However, Burns is happy, having shown the MMA community that Chimaev is not a monster after all. 'Durinho', further said on The DC&RC Show:
"Heart hurts a little bit. For sure I'm thankful for all the things everybody's saying. But that fight was very winnable when I lost. Very winnable, got super close, got win bonus, got this, got that but in the end I lost. That wasn't the goal. I'm still happy with the performance, putting on a show and showing everybody that guy is not a superman. There's nothing crazy about this guy. He can get hurt, can get dropped multiple times but it is what it is."
Burns has called for a rematch against Chimaev within his next three outings. Currently placed at No.4, the 35-year-old is a top dog at welterweight and can make his way back into title contention with a few emphatic victories.