Gilbert Burns believes Conor McGregor would have a hard time winning fights at welterweight.
With McGregor still rehabbing the broken leg he sustained back at UFC 264, the Irishman has talked about fighting at welterweight when he returns. If he does return at 170lbs, Burns – who’s currently ranked fourth in the division – doesn’t see it going well for him.
Gilbert Burns Doesn’t Think Conor McGregor Could Grapple at Welterweight
“He’s not a welterweight but if he wants to fight at welterweight, I’d love to beat the s*** out of Conor,” Burns told MMA Fighting.
“I think he’s not going to take that punch. I’m not even talking about grappling cause that’s not fair. [I’d] just take him down and maul him but a fight with Conor, it’s a win-win for me. I’m going to beat him up and I’m going to get a ton of crazy money. I’m not even calling for that fight cause it’s not fair. I think he’s a 55-pounder, [if] he’s at 170, he can’t take those punches. He cannot handle that wrestling.”
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— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) August 3, 2022
According to Burns, why he thinks McGregor would struggle at 170lbs is due to the wrestling. He knows every top welterweight is a good wrestler and that is the Irishman’s weakness which he believes welterweights would exploit.
“If you’re talking about the top five in the world, everybody hits hard except Colby [Covington] but everybody can wrestle,” Burns explained.
“Colby can wrestle. Colby and Conor is not fun cause Colby would just outwrestle him. Kamaru [Usman], he can hit hard and he can wrestle. Khamzat [Chimaev], he can hit hard and he can wrestle. Leon Edwards, he can hit very hard, good striking and can wrestle. I hit hard and can wrestle so don’t say you’re a welterweight. You can’t handle the top five guys in that division. You can fight a couple of guys at 170 but he’s not a welterweight. If he really thinks [he is], try some top five [fighters] in that division. I think it’s not fair. We’d just destroy Conor.”
