Gilbert Burns Asked Shavkat Rakhmonov to Be Top Sparring Partner for Chimaev Bout

On the heels of a second-round submission victory against Neil Magny at UFC on ESPN 38, Shavkat Rakhmonov has emerged as a factor in the welterweight division, taking over the No. 10 spot in the promotion’s latest rankings.

Gilbert Burns, his teammate at Sanford MMA, revealed that he invited Rakhmonov to be his No. 1 sparring partner ahead of his bout with Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 273 in April. However, Rakhmonov had more pressing matters to attend to at the time.

"[UFC on ESPN 38 was] the third camp he did here at Sanford,” Burns told Sherdog.com. “I was going to hire him to help me against Chimaev, but his son was just born, so he had to return to Kazakhstan. But he is definitely really tough. Tall, strong, has great wrestling, good jiu-jitsu and great striking skills, besides being a really nice guy. Everybody liked him here at Sanford.”

Planning his UFC return against Jorge Masvidal, "Durinho" hopes to have the contract signed as soon as possible.

"My fight with Masvidal is verbally agreed but we are waiting for a date,” Burns said. “Thursday I´m going to UFC fight week in Vegas. I hope to meet with Dana [White] and [Sean] Shelby to [get it finalized].”