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Gilbert Burns has opened up about why he chose to pursue a swift submission victory over Neil Magny. Fighting in his native Brazil, the BJJ savant impressively defeated Magny via an arm-triangle choke at UFC 283 on January 21.
Speaking to UFC's McKenzie Pavacich backstage at UFC 283, 'Durinho' later expounded upon why he didn't opt for his usual high-risk stand-and-bang approach against Magny and chose to utilize his BJJ skills instead.
Harking back to his pre-fight conversation with his wife, Gilbert Burns explained that she made him promise he'd go for a quick submission win rather than a striking slugfest. Burns stated:
"I was saying goodbye to my wife before I was coming to the fight. And then she said something like, she holds on to me and said, 'I don't want you to bang today. I want a quick submission. Don't get hit. You promise you're gonna do that?' I say, 'Yeah, okay, I promise. Okay.'"
The UFC welterweight indicated that his wife, too, is a BJJ black belt, and he didn't want to anger her. Burns said:
"The fight started. I was getting my distance. I was getting it going. And I saw the right hand there. I saw it, then I said, 'Okay, I'm gonna start to throw so hard on this guy in the beginning.' And then I kind of remembered the promise. Oh, I gotta finish this guy. Okay, okay. If the right hand doesn't connect, I'm gonna shoot for a takedown."
The 36-year-old recalled seeing Neil Magny step back and leave himself vulnerable to a takedown. Burns further highlighted that he took Magny down and submitted him, as he'd promised his wife. Moreover, 'Durinho' jestingly suggested that having obeyed his wife, he'll now have a great night, week, and month.
Watch Burns discuss the topic at 1:00 in the video below:
Is a Gilbert Burns title shot on the cards in 2023?
During his UFC 283 post-fight octagon interview, as well as in his interview with McKenzie Pavacich, Gilbert Burns emphasized that he'd like to fight former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington.
With UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards facing Kamaru Usman in their trilogy fight next, a clash with fellow welterweight elite Covington would be ideal.
Burns opined that if Covington refused to fight him, he'd be open to facing Belal Muhammad or Jorge Masvidal. 'Durinho' noted that he's always accepted any fight, including his recent bouts against Khamzat Chimaev and Neil Magny.
Furthermore, Gilbert Burns has posted multiple tweets challenging 'Chaos' to fight him next. He seemingly believes that a win over Covington could earn him a title shot later this year.
