Gilbert Burns hopes to fight Colby Covington before either retires: 'I believe I can finish'

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – Sooner or later, Gilbert Burns is hoping to get his hands on Colby Covington.

The Brazilian contender would like to cross paths with the former UFC interim welterweight champion and upcoming title challenger before either of their careers come to an end. Burns (20-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) and Covington (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) have been longtime contenders at 170 pounds, but destiny has yet to have them cross paths.

Burns has been publicly asking for the fight for a while. While he gets ready for one of his biggest fights yet, against Jorge Masvidal in the UFC 287 co-main event April 8, the desire to one day fight “Chaos” still remains.

“I hope. I hope because I’ve been calling this guy out forever,” Burns told MMA Junkie. “He’s been smart. He sits out and fights Tyron Woodley and then relax, and then he fights for the title again. He then picks another guy that’s not in his prime coming from another loss, Masvidal. Then he wins and gets another title shot. He’s been smart. I hope that one day we can get this done.”

Burns is coming off a quick submission win over Neil Magny at UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro in January. He’s hoping to follow that up with another finish over Masvidal and convince the UFC brass to walk back their promised title shot to Covington and have him fight champion Leon Edwards instead.

If he does get matched up against Covington some day, “Durinho” is confident he could get a stoppage win.

“I believe I can finish Colby,” Burns said. “I’m a dangerous striker, and if he takes me down, thank you. So I hope that fight happens. Now I’m 100 percent focused on Masvidal, but that fight is going to happen, I believe.”