Kamaru Usman vs Gilbert Burns- Stephen Thompson Makes His Pick for UFC 258

Published 02/12/2021, 3:02 AM EST

A lot of the intrigue surrounding the main event at UFC 258 between Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman has been that the two men were former training partners. Both ‘Durinho’ and ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ trained under the brilliant Henri Hooft at Hard Knocks 365 in Florida.

Thousands of sparring sessions with each other means that both men have a very good understanding of what the person standing across them in the octagon is capable of. And the training sessions have also given both men a good idea of how they stack up against their opponent. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how it plays out, given that both men know each other so well.

MMA fighters to have their eye on the contest, and Stephen Thompson opened up on the same.

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Read: Dana White looking to hold $10,000 for a Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Daniel Cormier 1v1 basketball game

Gilbert Burns is Kamaru Usman’s toughest test to date states, Stephen Thompson

In a recent interview, the host asked ‘Wonderboy’ what he made of the main event at UFC 258 and who he thought would win.

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The former title challenger said, “That’s a good one. It’s kinda up in the air. This is definitely Kamaru Usman’s toughest fight yet. Burns is good everywhere, I think he is faster with his striking than Usman. He’s got great Jiu-Jitsu. But that said, Usman sticks to his game plan, he’s an intelligent fighter so you know he is going to be ready for this fight.”

Thompson continued, “I think they have over a thousand sparring sessions together. So you know they know each other very well…. I think Usman can probably neutralize Burns’ Jiu-Jitsu on the ground with his top game. So I guess I’m going to go with Usman.”

The welterweight main event clash is an extremely interesting one, as both men are extremely well rounded. Under Hooft, ‘Durinho’ has molded himself into a dangerous striker with deadly knockout power. Usman also has brutal knockout power and has displayed that in his UFC career. (at UFC 245)

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The fighters are also extremely good on the ground, and it remains to be seen if either fighter will attempt to take the fight to the floor. Nonetheless, fans can expect a cracker of a title fight at UFC 258 between Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman.

Who do you think wins the main event at UFC 258? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written by:

Kevin Binoy is an MMA author at EssentiallySports. He earned a Bachelor's degree from Fergusson College and has been covering sports professionally for over two years. Besides working with the MMA writing team, Kevin is a core member of the organization's web stories team and is responsible for delivering engaging MMA web stories.

Kamaru Usman vs Gilbert Burns- Stephen Thompson Makes His Pick for UFC 258

Gilbert Burns is Kamaru Usman’s toughest test to date states, Stephen Thompson

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