UFC welterweight Gilbert Burns has taken back the offer of a fight he sent Neil Magny on Twitter. “Durinho” suggested the response he received wasn’t “thankful” enough for his liking.
Burns was last in action at UFC 264 in July. In the pay-per-view’s co-main event, the Brazilian comfortably defeated Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson on the judges’ scorecards. The victory marked an important rebound performance for the 35-year-old.
Earlier in the year, he fell short of capturing gold against former teammate Kamaru Usman. Defeating Thompson, who many had tipped to receive a title shot in the near future, has certainly propelled Burns back into the championship conversation.
Despite setting his sights on both Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal, the former title challenger has come up short with his callouts to date. Having lost patience with “Rocky,” Burns called out “Gamebred” for an October or November date. With nothing appearing close to materializing with either man, “Durinho” adjusted his target to a welterweight further down the 170-pound ladder.
Taking to his Twitter account, Burns revealed he was getting the “itch” to return to the Octagon, and turned his attention to #8-ranked Neil Magny.
“Starting to get that itch again… but everyone that I call is busy @NeilMagny ??”
Magny was last in action against Geoff Neal at UFC Vegas 26. The victory marked his first success of 2021, with a defeat to Michael Chiesa in January beginning the year on the wrong foot. Having previously built a three-fight winning streak after returning to action for the first time in a year-and-a-half at UFC 248, “The Haitian Sensation” still sits well in the welterweight top-10.
Despite being called out by the #2 contender in the division, Magny was less appreciative than you’d expect. Perhaps in an attempt to build some hype around a potential clash with Burns, the 34-year-old took a shot at the Brazilian with his response.
“Spent all that time chasing clout! I’ve been ready!”
But it now seems that Magny won’t need to be ready for Burns. “Durinho” wasn’t pleased with the less-than-thankful response, and suggested that “The Haitian Sensation” had blown his opportunity to face him.
“I don’t like the way you sound you might just lost an opportunity should be more thankful next time”
Kamaru Usman is set to defend his welterweight gold in a rematch against Colby Covington at UFC 268. Burns will be eager to record another victory before the end of the year in order to stake his claim for a second crack at the champ soon after.
Given his latest interaction with a top-10 welterweight, it appears another option has been released from his net. But after the recent comments from Masvidal, which suggested he’d be open to a clash with the Brazilian, perhaps Burns’ most likely route back to Usman is through the ‘BMF’ champ.
Who would be the best next opponent for Gilbert Burns? Jorge Masvidal, Leon Edwards, or Neil Magny?
