Tyron Woodley: Gilbert Burns Is A Threat To Kamaru Usman’s Title Reign
Having lost his chance to challenge Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title, after testing positive for the coronavirus prior to their scheduled bout at UFC 251, Dana White has since confirmed that Gilbert Burns will get the next title shot against ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ later this year. Having faced both men, Tyron Woodley is the perfect man to breakdown the fight between the two.
Woodley lost the title to Usman at UFC 235, and then lost to Burns at UFC Vegas just two months ago. Speaking on the UFC Unfiltered Podcast, (as transcribed by MMA Junkie) ‘The Chosen One’ said that ‘Durinho’ has the necessary skills required to dethrone the current champion.
“He has power, He has more power than Usman. He’s a better grappler than Usman, jiu jitsu wise, but I think the striking – he may not be better, but he does punch a little bit harder, and it’s going to be a point where it has to go to the ground. We all just can be real, Gilbert’s gonna win that ground fight. Maybe not from his back, but if he finds a way on top or a position where he can take the back, it’s a problem.”
As for Usman, Woodley thinks he’s not particularly excellent anywhere, but he is excellent at putting it altogether inside the Octagon.
“Usman’s above average everywhere, but he’s not excellent anywhere,” Woodley said. “But he’s a good implementer. He’s above average everywhere, but he’s not excellent anywhere, but he’s excellent at putting it together. He’s excellent at making adjustments within a fight.
And Woodley believes that Usman will have to put it all together well, if he’s to successfully defend his title against Burns.
“Whether you like watching him take Masvidal down or not, he never did one takedown against Colby [Covington], and Leon Edwards he struck and when it was time to takedown, he went for the takedown. So he’s very good at putting it together, and he’s going to have to do that against Burns.”
How do you see the UFC welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns going?
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