“Even with the ‘rona right now, I’ll beat the sh*t out of Nate Diaz right now, if I had to.”

That’s UFC star Gilbert Burns — who was pulled from UFC 251 for testing positive for coronavirus — saying he’s still down to scrap with Nate Diaz, even while being ravaged by COVID!!!

Yeah, this is some gangster stuff!

Long story short … Burns was supposed to fight Kamaru Usman in the main event at Fight Island on Saturday — but COVID killed those plans.

Instead, Jorge Masvidal is taking his place — and Gilbert says he’s super bummed out because he was REALLY looking forward to his title shot.

Still, Burns says he has faith that God has a plan for him — “My time is gonna come.”

In the meantime, Nate Diaz has talked some trash about Burns — claiming his scrap with Usman wouldn’t have been a “real fight.”

“This guy is a clown,” Burns says … “I’m as real as it gets.”

“If it wasn’t for COVID-19, [Usman] would be my 3rd fight in 5 months. And, all tough fights, Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman, the reigning champion.”

“And, this guy [Diaz] comes from a loss that he gets beat up from Masvidal.”

Burns says simply, “He’s just talkin’ sh*t … he don’t want no smoke from me.”

So, what’s next for Gilbert — he hopes to fight the winner of Usman vs. Masvidal … but if that doesn’t work out, “I would love to beat the sh*t out of Nate Diaz.”

As for Gilbert’s COVID battle, he’s feeling better but he’s not out of the woods yet.