Gilbert Burns confirms he will be fighting Jorge Masvidal in December or January: “He verbally agreed. I did too”

Gilbert Burns has confirmed that he will be fighting fellow contender Jorge Masvidal in either late 2022 or early next year.

The welterweight division will be watching this weekend as Kamaru Usman defends his crown against challenger Leon Edwards. Beyond that, though, there are still plenty of questions surrounding who the next challenger will be, with Khamzat Chimaev leading the charge in the lead-up to his showdown with Nate Diaz next month.

Elsewhere, we’ve got Gilbert Burns and Jorge Masvidal – two men who have teased facing each other on multiple occasions. The pair have danced around a date and when it’s going to actually go down but as per Burns, it seems like we’re finally getting close to a confirmed bout.

“Nothing done yet – a lot of talks about the fight with Masvidal – he verbally agreed. I did too,” Burns said. “They’re just figuring out the date. No date yet. November was too close, … so December or January. At least I know I have an opponent. Just figuring out the date right now.”

“No. 1 would be MSG in November, but then he said no for that date,” Burns said. “Now December or January, I can wait like 20 more days to go to Brazil. I’m looking forward to go to the Brazil card.”

Quotes via MMA Junkie

Burns is coming off the back of a loss to Chimaev whereas Masvidal is in desperate need of a win after three consecutive setbacks against Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington.

Either way, though, we’re confident in saying this one is going to be an absolute barnburner.

Who do you consider to be the favourite if Gilbert Burns faces Jorge Masvidal? When do you think they will finally fight and could the winner end up receiving another title shot? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments, BJPENN Nation!