Gilbert Burns wants to replace Leon Edwards, calls out Tyron Woodley

UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns says he wants to replace Leon Edwards and fight Tyron Woodley next weekend at the new UFC London card.

Burns knocked out Demian Maia in devastating fashion at UFC Brasilia to emerge as a legitimate contender at 170lbs. With the UFC London card now in shambles with the withdrawal of Leon Edwards and several other fighters scheduled to compete, Woodley is currently without an opponent for the card, which the UFC says it plans to move to the United States.

At this point, the status of the card is very much up in the air. As much as the UFC wants the event to go on, it seems very unlikely to do so. The card has little-to-no matchups still left on it, and without Edwards in the main event, Woodley has no opponent. Despite all signs pointing to the card being scrapped entirely, Burns is still hoping to step in on short notice to fight Woodley in the main event.

Check out what Burns wrote on his Twitter on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/GilbertDurinho/status/1239255220770783233

Come on @danawhite I said yesterday I’m saying again I fight Woodley Saturday! Put me in WOODLEY X BURNS! @seanshelby @AliAbdelaziz00 @ufc @UFCBrasil #AAA

On paper, a fight between Woodley and Burns actually makes a lot of sense. After knocking out Maia, Burns should easily move into the top-10 at 170lbs. Woodley is ranked in the top-five, but if he wants to still fight next weekend against a top-10 opponent, Burns may be the only one available at the moment.

Normally, the Burns vs. Woodley fight would make a lot of sense had this been a normal injury withdrawal. But with the coronavirus outbreak threatening the entire globe, this is a special circumstance, and because of that Burns may not get the fight that he wants.

Would you like to see Gilbert Burns fight Tyron Woodley?