Khamzat vs. Gilbert Burns prediction: Top-ranked contender picks ‘Durinho’ via knockout?

There may be two title fights sitting atop the excellent UFC 273 pay-per-view (PPV) tonight (Sat., April 9, 2022), but Khamzat Chimaev vs. Gilbert Burns is the unofficial main event, the bout generating the most excitement.

Burns is a badass fighter, a knockout artist with an incredible Brazilian jiu-jitsu resume who’s fought for the Welterweight title. Nevertheless, the No. 2-ranked Welterweight enters this bout as a gigantic underdog, and he’s not the A-side of this match up.

Deserved or not, Chimaev is the star here.

The Chechen wrestler has been flawless inside the Octagon, racking up four largely effortless wins without taking more than a couple punches in the Octagon. He very much looks like a future champion, which has fans extremely excited and the promotion already lining him up for potential title fights.

While Chimaev himself is predicting a quick knockout, top-ranked Welterweight contender and analyst Belal Muhammad is going the other direction. In fact, he’s predicting Burns to be the superior kickboxer and heavier handed athlete in what he expects to be a striking battle.

“I think Burns finishes him in the second round,” Muhammad told ESPN. “Yeah, I don’t think Khamzat is gonna come out there shooting on Burns. I think it’s gonna be more so on the feet and Burns, he throws bombs. He’s not afraid to throw hard. I don’t really think it’s gonna be a wrestling match between either one of them, I don’t think either one of them is going to go for the grappling. I think it’s gonna be all on the feet and if Khamzat gets a little bit too long or lazy with his jab or cross, Burns can come over the top.

“Especially with that calf kick, too, I think it’s gonna lead to Khamzat having to switch stances maybe and then I don’t know how he is out of southpaw, but your defense usually isn’t as good as when you’re with your orthodox stance,” he added.

We’re just a few short hours away from finding out of “Remember The Name” is on the money.

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BLOCKBUSTER BANTAMWEIGHT BATTLE! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to Newark, N.J., for the first time in more than three years on Sat., May 6, 2023, with a blockbuster Bantamweight collision inside Prudential Center that will see Aljamain Sterling attempt another successful title defense against returning two-division titleholder and former gold medal-winning Olympic wrestler, Henry Cejudo. In UFC 288’s last-minute pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, former Welterweight title challenger, Gilbert Burns, locks horns with No. 4-seeded contender, Belal Muhammad, in a five-round, 170-pound No. 1 contender eliminator match.

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 273 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:15 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

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