Gilbert Burns responds to Nate Diaz as social media feud escalates
Gilbert Burns is presently on a six-fight winning streak, with his most recent victory coming against former UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley.
‘Durinho’ dominated Woodley over the course of five rounds and emerged victorious via unanimous decision in their fight that transpired in May of this year.
Burns was subsequently scheduled to face UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman for the latter’s belt at UFC 251 in July of his year. However, Burns contracted COVID-19 and had to withdraw from the title fight.
Gilbert Burns takes a shot at Nate Diaz’s MMA record
Kamaru Usman successfully defended his title against short-notice replacement Jorge Masvidal at UFC 251 – following which, the UFC once again booked Usman against Gilbert Burns.
Usman was scheduled to face Burns at UFC 256 that takes place this December. However, the former recently withdrew from the event reportedly owing to injury issues.
In the days that ensued, Burns has indicated that he’d be willing to wait until 2021 in order to compete in a UFC Welterweight Championship fight against Usman, rather than risk losing his status as the number-1 contender for the title.
One ought to note that around the time Burns was first scheduled to face Usman for the UFC Welterweight Championship, MMA icon Nate Diaz had severely criticized the matchup via his official Twitter account and insinuated that neither Usman nor Burns were worthy of being involved in a world title fight.
Diaz has now seemingly rekindled his social media feud with Gilbert Burns, as the former recently put forth a tweet showing Burns getting knocked out by Dan Hooker in their 2018 Lightweight bout.
Hooker’s teammate and reigning UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya addressed Diaz’s aforementioned tweet, noting –
“That’s a good a** fight!”
In response to Adesanya’s statement, Diaz tweeted that Adesanya’s teammate Hooker is now the number-1 Welterweight – Thereby alluding to Hooker’s KO victory over Gilbert Burns who’s the current number-1 contender for the UFC Welterweight Title. Diaz’s tweet read as follows –
“Your boys the #1 welterweight right now”
Gilbert Burns addressed the social media insinuations against him and tweeted out an image showing Nate Diaz’s MMA record with the number of Diaz’s losses (12) encircled.
Will the Gilbert Burns vs. Nate Diaz rivalry end with both fighters clashing inside the Octagon?
While Gilbert Burns’ next fight is likely to be against Kamaru Usman for the UFC Welterweight Title, Nate Diaz has been rumored to be facing Jorge Masvidal in a rematch after Diaz came up short in their first encounter for the BMF Title last year.
Whether or not the ongoing social media feud between Burns and Diaz eventually results in an official MMA bout between them, is likely to unravel in the days to come.
Which fighter do you think would walk away victorious in a potential matchup between Gilbert Burns and Nate Diaz? Sound off in the comments.