Getty Khamzat Chimaev prepares for his welterweight fight against Gilbert Burns.
UFC superstar Darren Till is ready for a more antagonistic role alongside Khamzat Chimaev.
Chimaev faced longtime rival Kevin Holland in the co-main event of UFC 279 this past Saturday. After a heated build-up that saw the two get into an altercation backstage, they finally settled their differences inside the octagon. “Borz” came out firing from the get-go and earned another dominant first-round finish. It marked the fourth UFC fight for Chimaev where he absorbed zero significant strikes.
The former fan favorite Chimaev turned into a villain quickly after a string of incidents in the lead-up to the fight. He fired back at the crowd in attendance at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and seemed to embrace the new role.
Following his teammate’s sensational win, British fan favorite and the other half of the ‘Smash Bros’ Till gave his take on the recent developments involving Chimaev.
“I’m speechless, guys,” Till said. “So many antics this week. We are the bad guys. Now, look, so yeah, onwards and upwards. All my lips are cut. I can’t speak. We are the f****** bad guys, let’s go!”
Darren Till doesn’t mind being one of the bad guys 😤 #UFC279
Chimaev Hit Back at His Critics After the Win
During the post-fight press conference, a fired-up Chimaev hit back at his fellow fighters and fans who bashed him for not making weight.
“You care about that sh*t?” Chimaev told Heavy and other media members (transcribed by Aaron Bronsteter of TSN Sports ). “I don’t care. I care about my family, I care about my family, I care about my career, I care about my money… One day they’re with me, one day they’re not with me.”
Chimaev added, “watch the weigh in on Instagram, look at who has the most views. Look at how many views I have and Diaz have and you’ll see who’s more of a star. People can say they don’t want to watch me fight, they’re liars. Everyone want to watch my fights, everyone wants to see a killer. Not that smoking sh*t and drug dealers here. I’m a professional athlete here.”
Till Is Excited for His Comeback at UFC 282
Till is set to mark his return to action after a year’s hiatus against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 282 on Dec. 10. He has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and needed to pull out of an earlier return against Jack Hermansson at UFC London in July.
He expressed his excitement at getting a fight booked and believes he’s ready for competition.
“I think he’s tough,” Till said via MMA Junkie. “I swear I’m just gonna come to rip this guy’s head off. I just want to beat him bad. I really do, but we’ll see.”
“Good, as good as it can be,” Till said. “I’ve just gotta be smart with my movement. I want to spar a lot, I want to get a lot of good rounds – I’ve been getting good sparring lately with good guys. It builds me up when I have good sparring.”
“Look at what Whittaker just done to Vettori and my fight with Whittaker,” Till said. “I know I can be one of the best. So I just gotta be smart with my movements and get the good rounds in and treat my body right.”