Gilbert Burns believes he can tire out Khamzat Chimaev at RAF 13
The Brazilian thinks he can frustrate Khamzat Chimaev and push him harder than Dillon Danis and Tyron Woodley did.
Gilbert Burns is confident he has identified a way to beat Khamzat Chimaev at RAF 13. The Brazilian acknowledges that the former UFC middleweight champion is the better wrestler and a bigger man, but believes he can use his cardio and experience to frustrate Chimaev and wear him down.
Burns and Chimaev will meet in a catchweight wrestling match at RAF 13 on Friday in Miami. While the Brazilian will make his debut in freestyle wrestling, Chimaev is undefeated in RAF, having won matches against Dillon Danis and Tyron Woodley in his first two promotional appearances.
Gilbert Burns Plans to Tire Out Khamzat Chimaev
Although Burns is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu IBJJF World champion, he knows he will be at a disadvantage when it comes to wrestling. However, the Brazilian believes his cardio can give him the edge if he manages to frustrate Chimaev and force him to work throughout the match. Speaking to MMA Junkie ahead of RAF 13, Burns explained that his main goal will be to keep pushing Chimaev until he becomes tired.
"For sure he's a better wrestler, you can say that," Burns said. "He's competed many more times than me. He's a bigger guy, but the heart and the cardio, I think I can be in front of him. That's my goal: to frustrate him, get my good entrances, get him freaking tired. That's my goal. Get him freaking tired, look at him, and be like, 'I know what you're feeling. Let's go.'"
This will not be the first time Burns has had Chimaev standing across from him. The Brazilian faced "Borz" in MMA back in 2022 at UFC 273, when he lost by unanimous decision. Looking back at their first encounter and Chimaev's recent UFC fight against Sean Strickland, Burns believes the Russian showed signs of struggling with fatigue.
"The way I look back at our fight, and the Strickland fight, he hates to get tired," Burns said. "That's what I think. My goal is to try to put him there and see how he feels."
Gilbert Burns Sees Mistakes in Dillon Danis and Tyron Woodley's Fights
Ahead of their match, Burns studied Chimaev's first two RAF appearances and believes both Danis and Woodley gave him opportunities that he will try to avoid. According to Burns, Danis should not have attempted a guillotine against Chimaev, while Woodley allowed the much bigger wrestler to establish a body lock.
"He looks good against Dillon Danis, before the brawl," Burns said. "Against Tyron Woodley, I liked what he did in the beginning, but I still needed a little more hustle. I definitely think I can push him, not a little bit, but a lot more than those guys. That's what I think. Especially Woodley, you can't let him get a body lock. He's very strong, very long. I know there are a couple of things they did wrong that I'm not going to do. Dillon Danis tried to guillotine him. No, we're going to wrestle. I like it. We're going to his territory, up a division. Yeah, keep the 'Durinho' name alive."
Burns will make his freestyle wrestling debut when he faces Chimaev at RAF 13, with the Brazilian looking to hand Chimaev his first defeat in the promotion.
