Herbert Burns and Luis Gomez will finally meet inside the Titan FC cage on April 26. This time, UFC president Dana White will be in attendance.
Burns and Gomez were originally scheduled to fight in Kazakstan in December, but Gomes was removed from the card due to visa issues. Titan FC then re-booked the contest for Friday’s show in Fort Lauderdale, a day before the UFC’s Fight Night event in the area, and White will be at the Xtreme Action Park shooting his reality show “Lookin’ for a Fight.”
”It’s an important fight for me,” said Burns, who will have his brother Gilbert Burns competing the following night in the UFC. “Dana White will be there for ‘Lookin’ for a Fight.’ so I worked really hard in this camp. My brother ‘Durinho’ will fight the next day (against Mike Davis), we trained together this time, so it was really intense. I’m super motivated to get there and do great.”
Burns, who moved up in weight on short notice to fight lightweight Aibek Nurseit after Gomez pulled out of Titan FC 51, returns to featherweight looking to extend his MMA record to 8-2. A former ONE Championship talent, Burns sees Friday’s event as the perfect opportunity to get back to “the big leagues.”
”I’ve fought for big promotions before, like ONE, and I know what I can do,” Burns said. “I hope to be back to the big leagues soon. I train with many fighters that are in the big leagues and I go toe-to-toe with them in the gym, so I know I have what it takes to be really successful in the UFC.”
With five of his seven wins coming by way of submission, the Niteroi native is confident that adding another stoppage to his record should cement his place on the UFC roster.
”If [White] wasn’t there, someone would have to show him the tape anyway, so we’re just eliminating the middleman,” Burns said. “I’ll go there, put on a good performance and guarantee this contract. I really want that to happen. I have great grappling, great wrestling, I’m very versatile, technical, and I’m going looking for the finish. It’s an exciting style for the UFC.
”Most of my wins were by rear-naked choke, and his two losses were by rear-naked choke. My go-to move is his Achilles heel,” Burns added of Gomez. “I think he’ll try to keep the fight on the feet with me, but I’ve fought opponents that are more dangerous than him. Everything he might do, I’ve seen before. I’m ready.”