Gilbert Burns or Khamzat Chimaev?- Vicente Luque Picks His Winner in This Blockbuster UFC 273 Clash

Posted on by Matt James

UFC 273 is right around the corner and the MMA community is buzzing with two marquee title fights placed on top of the card. However, one main card non-title fight has stolen the headlines as fight week progresses.

UFC welterweights Gilbert Burns and Khamzat Chimaev will go head-to-head on the main in a fight with major title implications. Chimaev is facing the biggest test of his career as he faces off against the number 2 ranked former title challenger in Burns. ‘Durinho’ Burns comes in with a wealth of experience and it won’t be easy to trump the multiple-time jiu-jitsu ace.

Read More: “Usman Almost Handicapped”- Khamzat Chimaev Sends a Notice to Kamaru Usman and Israel Adesanya With an Ambitious Two-Weight Takeover Plan

UFC welterweight contender Vicente Luque has something to say

Divisional staple Vicente Luque spoke to ESPN MMA’s Marc Raimondi and talked about the match-up between Burns and Chimaev. Chiefly, Luque and Burns have a long-standing history and Vicente Luque unequivocally sided with Burns. According to Luque, a win for Burns would also aid in his own endeavors to reach the undisputed title.

“Even if Chimaev wouldn’t jump the line, that would always help me man. We’re brothers, whenever he [Burns] wins, that gives me extra motivation so we’re fighting back to back…”

“I do believe he is going to get a win. I know he has been getting ready super well for this fight and he’s a beast man. Everybody talks about Chimaev, I do think Chimaev is a great fighter, but you want to talk about a beast? You want to talk about someone who can really put people in danger? That’s Gilbert Burns. I think people underestimate him but that’s how things go and I think he’s going to surprise everyone.”

Luque has been closely associated with Burns and he believes that ‘Durinho’ is being severly underestimated heading into this contest. Moreover, the lines heavily favor Khamzat Chimaev despite the fact that he’s not as seasoned as Burns.

However, ‘Borz’ Chimaev has been nothing but relentless in his pursuit for dominance and he’s keen to secure the welterweight strap. All eyes will be on the Swedish-Russian fighter to determine if he can move past the biggest test of his career.