"Media pushing the villain narrative now" - Fans react after Khamzat Chimaev allegedly goes after Khabib Nurmagomedov with a tiramisu reference
MMA fans have reacted to a comment from Khamzat Chimaev that referenced Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson's long-standing rivalry.
Chimaev responded to a picture on Instagram from @Mini_Khabib who posted an image of the two together. The user captioned the post admitting she was worried about Khamzat Chimaev before the UFC 279 weigh-ins because she saw him dining at a restaurant just days before he was set to step onto the scale.
'Borz' commented on the picture and used Tony Ferguson's popular "tiramisu" insult, which refers to 'The Eagle' missing weight and being hospitalized before being set to face 'El Cucuy' back in 2017.
"I ate too much tiramisu, that's why my fight with Tony Ferguson been cancelled five times"
Fans have reacted to the above jibe from Chimaev, with one fan suggesting that the media are pushing the "villain" narrative more than the Chechen-born fighter is.
"Media is pushing the villain narrative now. Standard"
Another fan compared the recent heel turn of 'Borz' to Colby Covington's infamous Brazil promo.
"I've never seen a crowd flip on someone so quickly since Colby's infamous Brazil promo."
Instagram user @joyjeetsaharoy believes we're only just at the beginning of Chimaev's villain arc and it's going to be a wild ride.
"The villain Arc of Khamzat is going to be epic"
Check out more fan reactions below:
Khamzat Chimaev responds to questions on whether or not he ignored Kevin Holland's gesture to touch gloves
After being removed from UFC 279's main event, Khamzat Chimaev was rescheduled to face Kevin Holland in a five-round catchweight bout.
The pair reportedly got into a physical altercation before the canceled UFC 279 press conference and due to Chimaev's missed weight, they were given the opportunity to settle their newfound bad blood in the octagon.
At the very beginning of the fight, Holland appeared to have his hand raised with the gesture of touching gloves, which many fighters do at the beginning of fights as a mark of respect. 'Borz' instead shot for the takedown immediately and made the American tap just minutes later.
Chimaev vs. Holland Full Fight https://t.co/n5WkAiUTL5
During the post-fight press conference, Chimaev was asked whether or not he ignored the glove touch on purpose. The 28-year-old said:
"How I gonna see that? I wanna take off his head, not gonna watch his hands. So I was only watching his head, like where is his head. So I don't know, always people find some funny things to say. So if he wanna go back, we go back and I squeeze his head again."
Watch Khamzat Chimaev's full press conference here: