JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Gilbert Burns has had a surprising presence in his training camp ahead of a pivotal matchup with Khamzat Chimaev.
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has been helping Burns, his former opponent and training partner, prepare for Chimaev ahead of UFC 273 on Saturday night here at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Burns told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on Wednesday at media day. Burns vs. Chimaev could very well be a No. 1 contender bout, with Usman defending his title against the winner.
“The guy is freakin’ smart,” Burns said. “I give him that, he has the IQ. He was helping out a lot.”
Usman and Burns were longtime training partners, first with the Blackzilians and then Sanford MMA, which remains one of the top teams in the sport. Usman departed Sanford in 2020 to do his training camps with coach Trevor Wittman in Colorado.
At UFC 258 in February 2021, Burns challenged Usman for the UFC welterweight title, which was a subject of tension for both men and mutual friends at Sanford. Henri Hooft, Sanford’s head coach, did not corner anyone for that bout and didn’t even attend the fight. Usman ended up winning via third-round TKO.
Usman, ESPN’s top pound-for-pound MMA fighter, still lives in Florida near Sanford and is recovering from hand surgery. He is expected to defend his title next against Leon Edwards this summer. Burns said Usman reached out to him and Hooft recently and asked if he could come to Sanford to train. Burns said “for sure” and that it wasn’t a problem.
Usman, Burns said, was doing some pad work with one hand, some wrestling and kicking at the gym. Then, Burns went into the cage to spar and Usman started “kind of coaching” him, Burns said, giving him some good advice on what to do.
“He showed up at that sparring and then he showed up the next day and then he showed up next sparring,” Burns said.” And he’s been there every single day. He’s another help. Another veteran.”
Vicente Luque, another top-level Sanford welterweight, has a UFC Fight Night main event against Belal Muhammad on April 16. He said he has also worked with Usman at Sanford, going back to January. Luque could also be in a top contender spot if he stops Muhammad.
“I think that just shows Kamaru’s character, what kind of man he is,” Luque told ESPN. “He’s not a guy that’s gonna hold any little things that happened before … and hold that in a bad way. He can go in there and just be humble and try to help everyone, especially Gilbert. They were really close and now apparently they are again. They were never enemies. It was a situation. [Usman] had the title, Gilbert wanted to be the champion. They had to fight.”
Chimaev, when asked about Usman training his opponent Burns when both men are top welterweight contenders, said he doesn’t think it really matters.
“[Burns] can bring all the world, it’s not helping him,” Chimaev said Wednesday at media day. “When he comes to the cage, he can bring all Nigeria if he wants. No problem.”