Of course, he's afraid - Khamzat Chimaev on Kamaru Usman's reason for helping Gilbert Burns prepare for UFC 273

L-R: Khamzat Chimaev, Kamaru Usman, and Gilbert Burns [Photo credit: @khamzat_chimaev on IG]

Khamzat Chimaev has a theory about why Kamaru Usman has helped Gilbert Burns in training camp ahead of UFC 273.

The undefeated rising star believes Usman is doing everything in his power to help Burns win and avoid a potential matchup against Chimaev. During an interview with TMZ Sports, the Russian-born Swede said:

"Of course, he wants [Burns to beat me] because he [sic] afraid I'll push him down under me. He's scared, that's why. That's why he wanna try to stop me before I come for him, you know?"

Nonetheless, Chimaev revealed that having Usman assisting his opponent won't bother him at all. 'Borz' is confident he'll dominate the Brazilian contender come fight night. Previewing how he believes his showdown with Burns will go down, Chimaev said:

"I feel sorry for both [of these] guys. I got to smash the guy [Burns], punch his face, and his best friend [Usman] will be staying in his corner. [I'll] make him scared as well."

Check out Khamzat Chimaev's comments below:

Usman and Burns, of course, were former training partners at Sanford MMA. They went their separate ways when the UFC welterweight champion left the Florida-based gym to train with coach Trevor Wittman in Colorado.

Gilbert Burns opens up about training with Kamaru Usman for Khamzat Chimaev fight

In February 2021, Kamaru Usman fought Gilbert Burns in his third title defense in the main event of UFC 258. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' kept his belt after he overcame a rocky start to put 'Durinho' away via a technical knockout in round three.

The respect between Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns 🤝

#UFC258 @espnmma https://t.co/5Nmbu2GpvK

However, the two appear to be back on the same side, at least for now. According to Burns, his relationship with Usman is similar to the unlikely partnership between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed – the lead characters in the Rocky franchise.

In the movies, Rocky and Apollo are former rivals who ended up becoming close friends after fighting each other twice. The Brazilian said:

"That's Rocky and Apollo, you know. Apollo beat Rocky and came out to help out so yeah... and to be honest, I make peace with that, you know, the guy beat me, okay, congratulations. I don't have that personal thing. For sure I want to become a champion but I'm not after Kamaru. I'm after the title, I want to become a champion, I want to become the best but I don't have no beef, nothing personal, no grudge, nothing against Kamaru."

Watch the full interview with Gilbert Burns below: