Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns are facing off as the Main Event of UFC 258: Usman vs Burns. This fight presents a ton of possibilities in the way it can play out which is what makes this fight interesting as well as the component that these two have trained together in the past. Karamu Usman is 17-1 in his career with an impressive 12-0 record in the UFC. Gilbert Burns is 19-3 with a 12-3 UFC record and is currently on a 6 fight win streak.
Karamu Usman is the Welterweight Champion and for good reason as an elite wrestler and striker. Karamu Usman will grind his opponents down, tiring them out as the fight progresses. Usman has relied heavily on his wrestling to do so, but with his opponent in Gilbert Burns, Usman might change things up if he thinks Burns posses a threat as a jiu-jitsu practitioner. Usman has great ground and pound should this fight take place on the ground.
Gilbert Burns is an elite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner but he has evolved nicely as he has displayed his boxing skills. Gilbert Burns also has excellent cardio and with Usman being a former training partner, expect Burns to have a great understanding of how to shutdown Usman's takedowns as well as limiting his ability to clinch.
With these two being former friends and training partners expect them to have a great understanding of each other's game causing this to be a very methodical game of chess. I'm expecting the pace of this fight to be rather slow with both fighters knowing their respective strengths and weakness in this matchup. One thing to note is that while Burns boasts an impressive record in the UFC the best fighters he's ever faced were out of their primes such as Damian Mai and Tyron Woodley. I like this fight to go decision with all of the variables at play, if you want to bet on a fighter I would recommend to play win by points for better odds.
