Khamzat Chimaev started his UFC career on an astonishing note as he ran through his first four opponents and finished them without much difficulty.
In his fifth UFC fight, 'Borz' took on former title challenger Gilbert Burns. This time it was anything but plain sailing for Chimaev. The two welterweights went to war for three rounds and the Chechen-born Swede eventually got his hand raised via unanimous decision.
After the fight, people started suggesting that Darren Till, who has been training with Chimaev, was a negative influence on 'Borz'.
Chimaev was asked about these claims during his interview on the Hustle MMA YouTube channel. The 27-year-old responded in the negative and said his relationship with Till was as good as ever.
Chimaev admitted to making mistakes in his fight at UFC 273 and said there was nothing more to the matter:
"There is no bad influence. It's all good. How could it be if he [Darren Till] helped with a training camp? Nothing has changed. I just messed up in the fight and that's it. That's the only reason. I was emotional. To be honest, it was a good lesson and I'm happy with the outcome." [Translated by YouTube Channel Smesh Bros].
You can watch a clip of Chimaev's interview with subtitles below:
Chimaev's full interview with Hustle MMA can be found below:
Khamzat Chimaev's coach was impressed with Darren Till's work ethic
Khamzat Chimaev's coach Andreas Michael recently made an appearance on Ariel Helwani's show The MMA Hour. During his time there, Michael shared his thoughts on Darren Till training at his gym and said 'The Gorilla' had surpassed his expectations:
“But if people want to train with me, giving my energy and focus, then I have these expectations. And if they want to, if they follow, they can come and train with me. This is what I said to Darren. This is what’s on table and he followed everything. He’s like outstanding. Outstanding. Very, very, very hard worker actually. I was pleasantly surprised. We’re looking to get a fight soon, hopefully.”
Watch Andreas Michael's full interview with Ariel Helwani below:
After his loss to Derek Brunson, Till decided to get in touch with Chimaev and started training with him. Since then, the two have grown to be close friends. Till was also present in the welterweight star's corner during his fight at UFC 273.