Gilbert Burns vs Stephen Thompson: Burns will return to the title race, not Thompson

At UFC 264, the Brazilian fighter Gilbert Burns ranked No. 2 in the official challenger rankings) will face the American Stephen Thompson (No. 4). This fight is part of the welterweight division.

Gilbert Burns: he sees the fight as a step on the way to the title

Burns, unexpectedly for many over the last two years, soared all the way to a title fight, where many considered him a threat to Kamaru Usman. But Usman thought otherwise and knocked out the challenger.

Stephen Thompson: a tough, very tough karate fighter

Thompson came to MMA from karate, and in 2006 was ranked number one in the World Martial Arts League (WCL), founded by Chuck Norris. His professional kickboxing record is 57-0-0. He got a title fight in 2016 at UFC 205 against Tyron Woodley, in which he did not get the championship belt and did not lose, the outcome of the fight was a tie. In 2017, he got a rematch against Tyron Woodley, in which he lost by a majority decision.

After a career slump in 2017/2019, when Thompson lost three fights out of four, he promised to come back and did so with two straight solid wins, much the same as each other.

In his fight with Luque nevertheless, he won all the rounds, although he moved noticeably less at the end of the fight. Right after he was declared the winner, he asked to submit Jorge Masvidal, but, as we can see, Gilbert Burns was submitted to him, which is not bad, either.

Prediction and betting on the fight

Stephen is not getting any younger, and his fighting style is very energy-consuming. With all due respect to Neal and Luquee, his wins over them are not convincing for a title fight. As for Burns, his wins were more confident, and he only lost to Kamaru Usman, who is not ashamed to lose at all. All the more so, Gilbert had a chance in that fight.

We should bet on Burns to win for 2.37!