Gilbert Burns is not afraid to go to the ground with Demian Maia . Burns (17-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) faces Maia (28-9 MMA, 22-9 UFC) this Saturday in the UFC on ESPN+ 28 co-main event in Brasilia, taking on one of the sport’s best grapplers. But three-time World Jiu-Jitsu Championship winner Burns boasts his own grappling credentials and won’t be trying to disengage should the fight hit the mats. “If we get in the grappling in that fight, guess what, I’m going to be hunting,” Burns told MMA Junkie. “I believe I’m capable to pull a submission against Demian Maia.” But in a battle between two accomplished grapplers, could they neutralize their strengths and end up slugging it out like standout wrestlers Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington did at this past December’s UFC 245? Burns says he highly doubts it.
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