Brazilian welterweight Gilbert Burns is looking forward to the UFC Abu Dhabi main event between Reinier de Ridder and Robert Whittaker.
Both men are vying for a shot at the winner of Dricus Du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev, with Whittaker making champion Plessis the favourite.
The Dutchman de Ridder has been very vocal about his praise for Whittaker, even claiming his Khamzat Chimaev choke loss wasn’t ‘real’ due to poor technique.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
As a former UFC champion, ‘The Reaper’ knows what it takes at the top level, but his opponent is riding high on confidence after a breakout Bo Nickal performance.
Gilbert Burns believes Reinier de Ridder has one chance with ‘high level’ Jiu Jitsu to beat Robert Whittaker
Most fans and pundits are riding with the Australian to get the job done on Saturday, but Burns thinks this can be much closer than people are claiming.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, he said: “Yeah, it is a tough one too, and how crazy is that opportunity, last year he was in the UFC, he was here (Abu Dhabi) fighting in Warriors, now he’s here back in Abu Dhabi fighting Robert Whittaker.
“If the fight stays on the feet, for sure it favours Robert Whittaker, but let me tell you that guy is big, RDR. He might be suffering now, cutting weight, but that guy is huge.”
The world title challenger has picked up on the one key part of ‘RDR’s’ game, which could get him the win.
He continued: “He doesn’t have the best striking, but his ability to clinch and get the guy to the floor is unique, and I’m telling you if he puts Robert Whittaker on the floor, oh, he is that high level on the jiu jitsu that he might get a submission from any angle, he’s that good.”
UFC Abu Dhabi fighter, Shara Magomedov provides harsh prediction for Dricus Du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev
The outcome of August 17th is hotly debated amongst fans, but one fighter who is confident of a knockout win for ‘Borz’ is Shara Magomedov.
Magomedov fights Canadian Marc-André Barriault on Saturday night, and during this week’s press conference, he gave a harsh prediction for the fight.
He said: “As I said before, Dricus has very good, strong hands in this fight.
“We’ll make sure to remember his name with two seconds of silence afterwards.”
But as TJ Dillashaw said, cardio is the key for Khamzat against Dricus, so if the South African is smart enough, he could drag the fight out and win late.
While confidence in the Chimaev camp is high, Du Plessis will have something to say about it and could pull off a win to stop the hype.