"It's time to embrace being the bad guy"- Darren Till has some interesting advice for Khamzat Chimaev to deal with the hate he has been getting due to the weight miss at UFC 279 and his behavior after that
Khamzat Chimaev and Darren Till have become close friends, developing what many have labeled a "bromance". With Chimaev entrenched in controversy throughout the UFC 279 fight week, Till has advised him to embrace the hate.
Khamzat Chimaev flipped off the crowd after being showered with boos 🗣 #UFC279 https://t.co/kbldRiwk6z
Following an altercation with Paulo Costa, Khamzat Chimaev took part in a backstage brawl that led to the cancelation of the press conference. Chimaev would then go on to miss weight, forcing the main card to be reshuffled. His training partner and close friend advised him to accept being the bad guy following a weekend filled with boos from disgruntled fans.
Speaking with Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA, Darren Till shared that he has advised Chimaev to embrace the hate, stating (starting at the 7:38 mark):
I said to him, it's time to embrace being the bad guy now. Embrace it, you know. I feel like since my career started not only have I done s**t, and this and that, I felt like a bad guy a lot of the time. I just said to him - after the press conference, the weight cuts, and everything - I just said 'what are you going to do mate, what are you going to do? Just embrace it, you're the villain now, you're the bad guy, you're the Joker in Batman, you're the evil guy so just embrace it and he did, like, so good.
It will be interesting to see if Khamzat Chimaev, one of the UFC's rising stars, both in terms of talent and popularity before UFC 279, will continue to embrace the role of the bad guy. He had no choice but to do so after forcing the cancelation of the press conference and reshuffling the card. The changes, of course, bothered fans who paid for the event. It remains to be seen if that will continue now that the week is behind him.
Watch Darren Till's full comments on Khamzat Chimaev below:
Daniel Cormier previously warned Khamzat Chimaev of his friendship with Darren Till
Many believe that Khamzat Chimaev is a future UFC champion. Back in 2020, double champ and UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier shared his high expectations for Chimaev's career, stating that he believes the No.3-ranked welterweight will become the welterweight and middleweight champion.
Daniel Cormier has extremely high expectations for Khamzat Chimaev 🏆🏆 (via @dc_mma) https://t.co/RAXvFqluzk
Time will tell if Cormier's predictions have come to fruition, as Chimaev has yet to fight for a belt. Cormier also shared that he believes Chimaev's friendship with Darren Till is a mistake, as he told Damon Martin of MMA Fighting:
I love the whole buddy-buddy thing with Darren Till but I think it’s a mistake. I think he should continue to be a mystery to people. I think he should spend as little time in front of the public and showing who he is, pulling the curtain back. I would pull the curtain back as little as I could if I’m Khamzat, just because the mystery is good for him.
Chimaev responded to these remarks on The DC Check In, telling Cormier:
Brother, you're saying what is that s**t? This is not s**t, it's brother's relationship. What you and Khabib doing, that s**t brother. You and Khabib doing same s**t in the gym. What you can say about that? You need the friends as well brother, you can't be alone. You need somebody to defend your back.