"Boy, I love a bad guy"- Daniel Cormier is excited for a heel turn for Khamzat Chimaev; gives his take on the 'no glove touch' situation at UFC 279
Daniel Cormier is excited for Khamzat Chimaev to be the 'bad guy' after the latter was embroiled in conflict throughout UFC 279 fight week.
Following an altercation with Paulo Costa, the No.3-ranked welterweight took part in a brawl that forced a press conference cancelation. Chimaev would then go on to miss weight, leading six fighters, including himself, to face new opponents.
Khamzat Chimaev flipped off the crowd after being showered with boos 🗣 #UFC279 https://t.co/kbldRiwk6z
Initially supposed to fight Nate Diaz in the main event, Chimaev ended up submitting Kevin Holland in the first-round of the co-main event. His post-fight interview did him no favors, as Chimaev likened himself to legendary boxer Muhammad Ali.
Speaking on his podcast, 3 Rounds with Daniel Cormier, DC announced that he is looking forward to the new Chimaev while giving his thoughts on the glove touch controversy, stating (starting at the 18:07 mark):
"Do I think that Khamzat tried to do a fake glove touch? No, I think that he feinted a punch, hands go up, you shoot on your opponent. I understand that right now he's the bad guy and boy I love a bad guy, and I wish that he embraces this, but I don't think he faked a glove touch in there. Even if he did, there is no law that says that you have to touch gloves. This is a fight. This is war. The moment they say 'are you ready? Are you ready? Let's get it on' it's a f**king fight."
Daniel Cormier continued by adding:
"We don't have to touch gloves. For the entirety of that fight, 15, 25 minutes, you and I are enemies so you can't blame him, and if someone falls for the fake glove touch, that's on them. Protect yourself at all times. These are the last instructions you get from the official. Make him the bad guy, I think he likes it, and boy we all need a villain. The world does not work with all good guys. We need bad guys and Khamzat Chimaev is more than willing to play that."
Watch Daniel Cormier's full comments on Khamzat Chimaev below:
Daniel Cormier has strong belief in Khamzat Chimaev
Daniel Cormier is a UFC Hall of Famer and one of just four double champs in the promotions history. If he is correct, Khamzat Chimaev will become the fifth, as back in 2020 Cormier shared his opinion that Chimaev will become the welterweight and middleweight champion.
Daniel Cormier has extremely high expectations for Khamzat Chimaev 🏆🏆 (via @dc_mma) https://t.co/RAXvFqluzk
While Khamzat Chimaev is certainly talented enough to accomplish becoming a double-champ, there is a belief that he will have to prove he is able to make weight at welterweight following the UFC 279 debacle. Chimaev's coach recently shared that his next fight will likely take place at middleweight.