5 reasons why Khamzat Chimaev will smash Gilbert Burns at UFC 273

#2. Gilbert Burns is getting no younger

At the age of 35, Gilbert Burns may be nearing the end of his athletic prime

Gilbert Burns hasn’t been considered a high-level welterweight contender for all that long. He only broke into the top 10 at 170 pounds following his knockout of Demian Maia in early 2020. However, he’s definitely no raw prospect.

In fact, ‘Durinho’ is a lot older than fans might suspect. A professional in MMA since 2012, Burns has now been with the UFC for nearly eight years and he’s now 35 years old, which means he’s probably nearing the end of his peak years as an athlete.

Sure, age doesn’t always matter in the UFC. Reigning welterweight champ Kamaru Usman is no spring chicken either at the age of 34. However, given that ‘Durinho’ is going to be facing a fighter in Khamzat Chimaev who is eight years younger than him and has far less miles on the clock, then it could be a problem.

More to the point, while Burns’ record of 20-4 is an underrated one, he’s also taken plenty of damage over the years, particularly during his UFC tenure. He’s been knocked out violently twice and has also been dropped in some of his other fights.

Add in all of the sparring he’s undoubtedly been through and there’s every chance that his age could catch up with him at any time.

Given the dangerous nature of this fight, against one of the UFC’s best prospects, it’d be a bad point for Father Time to come knocking for ‘Durinho’. Unfortunately for him, Chimaev might force his hand.

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#1. Khamzat Chimaev has a ridiculous amount of momentum behind him

Khamzat Chimaev has as much momentum as any fighter in the UFC right now

While success in the UFC largely comes down to a fighter’s ability in the octagon, it’s also difficult to ignore intangibles like momentum and self-belief. Right now, it’s arguable that no fighter possesses more of those two things than Khamzat Chimaev.

Ever since his debut in the octagon in 2020, the native of Chechnya has promised to “smash everyone” en route to claiming the UFC welterweight title. Thus far, he’s completely lived up to the hype.

Last September saw him face his toughest test to date in the form of Li Jingliang. Chimaev treated him like a tomato can, bodyslamming him with ease before choking him out in just over three minutes.

Sure, Gilbert Burns is on another level entirely in comparison to ‘The Leech’, but despite this, Chimaev will naturally still believe that he can destroy him, too. And given the fact that nobody’s even landed a single significant strike on him, why shouldn’t he believe that?

Essentially, Chimaev has the kind of aura of invincibility around him that can be very hard to crack, the kind of aura that took fighters like Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov all the way to the top of the UFC.

Can ‘Borz’ follow in their footsteps? That remains to be seen, but his momentum could well be enough to get him past Burns this weekend, and in impressive fashion, too.