Getty Khabib Nurmagomedov walks the red carpet prior to the UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Induction Ceremony.
UFC fan favorite Darren Till hit back at Khabib Nurmagomedov for his recent comments aimed at Khamzat Chimaev and his team.
Till is scheduled to mark his return to action against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 282 in December. The British fan favorite has remained on the sidelines since his last outing against Derek Brunson in Sep. 2021, a bout he lost by submission. Jack Hermansson was lined up for Till’s planned comeback in July at UFC London. However, another injury would keep Till away from the competition.
“The Gorilla” was in Las Vegas to support Chimaev, the other half of duo ‘Smesh Bros,‘ for his grudge match with Kevin Holland at UFC 279. Chimaev was supposed to headline the card opposite Nate Diaz in a welterweight contest but needed to find a new opponent after missing the weight limit by a mile. Although he finished Holland in the first round, he received hate for his antics during the build-up.
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib criticized Chimaev for his actions and suggested he surround himself with a better crowd.
“If you are a Muslim, you should have good people around you – Muslims who can say: ‘Hey, don’t do this,’” Nurmagomedov said via Bloody Elbow. “I recently watched the weigh-in of Khamzat Chimaev. I followed what was happening with his weight and looked at his team. There are no Muslims around him and this is very bad. Because if you are a Muslim, you need good, strong people around you. [They] will say: “Come back, do this.
“When you become famous and rich, when you gain power and [around you] there are no people who will give advice or you do not listen to them, then something will happen. You need good people, even if you don’t like it, you need them,” he added.
Till Hit Back at Khabib for His Comments
In an interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN, Till responded to Khabib’s incendiary comments and pushed back against the idea that Chimaev did not have good people around him.
“I seen Khabib, sort of like saying, ‘Khamzat doesn’t have good people around him.’ Now, I get it, I get like the Muslim faith and that,” Till said. “I’ve got some very close Muslim friends here in Liverpool and abroad or in Dubai and stuff like that. I just don’t like him saying.
“I don’t know if he’s directing at me or someone within Khamzat’s team, like coaches, teammates, or whatever. There’s a few of us who aren’t Muslim. Now, I don’t like it because, one, I’ve only got Khamzat’s best interests. When Khamzat posted that meme saying it’s my fault, there was no problem. Direct all the blame on me I don’t care if it makes stuff easier for you. I would rather him direct the blame on me so when he posted it, and I’ve seen it, I was sat next to him, I was like, ‘what the f**k?’ and he’s laughing. I don’t care. My only goal fight week was to watch him win the fight.”
Till recalled the scenes from the pre-fight press conference that got canceled by Dana White.
“I wanted him to just make weight and win the fight,” he added. “I’ve got his back more than anyone. Even when Khamzat was backstage on his own, they made us go to the front, and then Nate came in late with the same group of people. There was five of us and five of them and they never went straight backstage. I jumped over the gate and I went on backstage, I was shouting like, ‘Dana, Hunter, and everyone.’ Why the f**k was I not with Khamzat? Why was he left alone?”
Till Referenced Khabib’s Weight Misses & Reiterated His Stance
The 29-year-old Scouser recounted the times Khabib had missed weight during his time in the UFC and reiterated his case.
“Khabib’s missed weight like five times. He’s got good people around him. We are not coming out now saying. It’s just because me and Khamzat have a bit of fun on camera, we’re a bit wild, does that mean I’m not good peoples or his coaches aren’t good peoples?
“His Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach is one of the best grapplers of all time. He’s not Muslim, does that mean he’s bad peoples?”
“As much as I do respect Khabib as a person and a fighter,” Till added. “I just don’t respect him coming out with comments like that.”