July 26, 2020; Abu Dhabi, UAE; Khamzat Chimaev (red gloves) of Czechia celebrates after his TKO victory over Rhys McKee (not pictured) of Northern Ireland in their welterweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island . Mandatory Credit: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via USA TODAY Sports
See how MMA Twitter reacted to the epic welterweight showdown between Gilbert Burns and Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273
While it wasn’t one of the two championship contests of the evening, there was a lot of excitement and anticipation for the welterweight clash between former title challenger Gilbert Burns and rising contender Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273.
The fight more than lived up to the hype, delivering on so many levels.
The fight’s first round started with some feeling out but ended with Chimaev in control, with some wonder if this fight would end up like all his other UFC fights. Chimaev dropped Burns with a jab late in the round and rocked him with an elbow before the end of the round.
The second round, however, told a different story. Burns really tested Chimaev, rocking him more than once in the five-minute frame. While it looked like he could have been finished, Chimaev persevered and the two scrapped as the fight entered the third.
Fighting fatigue, both men continued to swing wildly and throw their hardest in the third.
In the end, all three judges scored the fight for Chimaev 29-28.
Twitter reacts to Khamzat Chimaev defeating Gilbert Burns in a fight that more than lived up to the hype
That fight was an instant classic
2 dudes going into an octagon and beating the holy hell out of eachother
🗣🗣 THANK YEW BURNS AND CHIMAEV#UFC273
— WrestleMania Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 10, 2022
Absolute hats off to Burns and Chimaev. That was insanity.
— Brenden Deeg (@BrendenDeegNFP) April 10, 2022
I knew I would see a handful of ‘overrated’ tweets if Chimaev wasn’t to dismantle of Burns in quick fashion.
If anything, Chimaev showed he’s far from overrated. Had to dig deep, grit down and push through. That’s a winners mentality. That’s a champions mentality.
— Lewis Simpson (@LewisSimpsonMMA) April 10, 2022
Gilbert Burns just got robbed!!! Burns won that fight! Even the crowd is booing. Such bullshit. That’s a real robbery! UFC couldn’t ruin it’s future money plans. Chimaev lost. 10-1 #UFC273
— Paul Nocha (@texasboy1060569) April 10, 2022
This fight is AMAZING!!
Khamzat Chimaev is getting absolutely tested. So is Burns but that’s nothing new. We’ve seen Burns tested.
My goodness what a fucking fight!
— MartialMind 🇳🇬🇺🇲 (@MartialMind1) April 10, 2022
Chimaev improved to 11-0 with this victory, with a 5-0 record in the Octagon. He had impressed with three wins in just over two months, including two wins and performance bonuses in a 10-day span in his first two UFC fights.
A long battle with COVID put him on the shelf for over a year, but he successfully returned with a submission of Li Jingliang at UFC 267.
Burns entered this fight ranked No. 2 in the UFC’s welterweight contender rankings. He had most recently defeated Stephen Thompson at UFC 264 and unsuccessfully challenged Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 258 in February 2021.
