The newfound friendship between Khamzat Chimaev and Darren Till is growing stronger, according to UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping.
Last week, Bisping was a commentator at UFC 272 in Las Vegas, and in town he had lunch with Chimaev and Till. The duo quickly became friends over the past month, when Till began training with Chimaev at the Allstar training center and apparently got as fat as thieves – or perhaps street racers.
“Terrible. My God, I was in the car with them, and Khamzat and Darren both took turns driving the car. I almost died,” Bisping said this week on The MMA Hour. “They are 28 and 26, I am 43. I have grown a little. I have matured a little over the years.
“We had dinner on Friday night. They picked me up from the hotel, which is very nice, and took me back to the hotel and I got a little dizzy. Khamzat rules like an absolute bastard maniac! And I mean maniac. On the wrong side of the road, dodge traffic on purpose – I’m in the back, “Ahh! Oh!’ I scream, I fasten my seat belt like: “Stop! Stop! Stop!’ They drive up to the gas station, I went to buy milk for coffee in the morning, I go out, and they are like maniacs eating donuts in the parking lot. I’m like, “Guys, you’re going to be arrested!” I get in the car, Darren Till starts making more donuts, only misses the fuel pump by about the same amount. [holds his fingers two inches apart]and I’m like, “Oh my God, let me out of this car.”
“If they make it to the fight, if they don’t die, I’ll be very, very impressed.”
While Till does not currently have a fight scheduled, Chimaev is set to face Gilbert Burns in a popular welterweight bout at UFC 273 in April. By all accounts, if he wins, Chimaev will get himself a ticket to a welterweight title fight. But at least on that fateful Friday night in Las Vegas, the Borz clearly showed no signs of unease.
“They just laughed their ass off,” Bisping said. “And the problem is, because I was such a little bitch, they did it more often. Because I was horrified. Look, I love my life. I love my wife. I like my children. I want to get old. I don’t want to die in the back seat of a car with Khamzat and Darren Till laughing with laughter. Call me stupid.”
UFC 273 will take place on April 9 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.