A much-anticipated matchup between rising star Khamzat Chimaev and top-ranked welterweight contender Gilbert Burns is in the works for the UFC 273 card, which is expected to take place in Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on April 9th.
Frontkick.online confirmed the news with sources. Contracts are yet to be issued and it’s currently not a done deal. However, things are moving in the right direction as the fight has been verbally agreed upon by both parties.
“The rumors are true, but’s it’s not a done deal,” one source with knowledge of the situation told Frontkick.
The matchup has been seriously discussed since November, as Frontkick previously reported.
Khamzat Chimaev has promised to ‘kill’ Gilbert Burns
Khamzat Chimaev recently defeated fellow Swede Jack Hermansson, a No. 6 ranked UFC middleweight contender, in a freestyle wrestling match at Bulldog Fight Night 9 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
On a press conference ahead of the event, “Borz” told Frontkick that he’d ‘kill’ Gilbert Burns when asked about the potential matchup.
“Brother, I’ll kill this guy,” Chimaev said.
In his latest UFC outing, Chimaev submitted Li Jingliang with ease at UFC 267 back in October. Following the win, Chimaev re-entered the UFC rankings where he currently sits at No. 11.
As for Gilbert Burns, he defeated Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in his most recent fight which took place at UFC 264 back in July. Before that, Burns challenged reigning welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, loosing via TKO after a strong start.
Burns is currently ranked at No. 2 in the UFC welterweight rankings.
Stay tuned for more news on Khamzat Chimaev vs Gilbert Burns and make sure to follow Frontkick.online on Twitter for the latest updates!
Related: Watch Chimaev take on Hermansson at BFN 9
Read more: Khamzat Chimaev clears the air on Khabib fallout: “People think I hate him”
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