Darren Till has opened up on why he chose to come to Sweden, where he’s currently training with undefeated UFC prospect Khamzat Chimaev at Allstars Training Center in Stockholm.
Speaking exclusively to Frontkick in the latest episode of Kickin’ it with Ashah, Till reveals he was invited by Khamzat Chimaev after his last loss to Derek Brunson back in September.
And he doesn’t regret coming here at all.
”Basically, when Khamzat had his first UFC fight I thought ’who is this guy?’”, Till says. “So I messaged him on Instagram and I was like, ’Hey bro, you wanna fight?’ And he was like, ’Yeah, yeah, I wanna smash you brother,’ and I was like, ’Okay.’ We did an Instagram live as well and he was like pulling a knife out, and I was like, ’This guy is like the Swedish Darren Till, he’s crazy!’ But I liked him, I liked his attitude. I watch a lot of his videos where he was working hard and I was like, ’I really like this guy.’ So we stayed in touch, you know?
“I knew a few guys from Allstars Training Center. And when I came back from Vegas after my last fight, I was feeling a little bit down, you know? I was a little bit like, feeling sorry for myself. I spoke to some of the guys and Khamzat was like, ’Come and train brother,’ you know? ’I’m gonna back you back up,’ you know? Motivated and stuff like that. I was like, ’Okay.’ So I spoke to my team back home, Team Kaobon, they were okay with everything and you know, here I am.”
Read more: Khamzat Chimaev is RIPPED ahead of UFC return: “He looks like Bruce Lee”
Till further reveals that he’s been through quite a rough time lately. The Englishman has lost two fights in a row, facing top tier competition, and is now looking to work only on himself. At least until he’s feeling absolutely ready to return to action.
”I’ve had like a tough past year, or the past two years,” Till says. “So I feel like this is what I’ve needed to like get me back up there. See him working like this, for me to then do it the same. You know like, I’m using Khamzat now as a little bit of an inspiration for myself, you know what I mean? So it’s good man.”
The Khamzat Chimaev x Darren Till duo has become a quite an internet sensation lately. For Till, the buzz is all fun and games. But he emphasizes that he’s in Sweden to train – not just entertain.
”I know me and Khamzat together is like, everyone is loving the duo, but it’s such an honor to be training here at Allstars and with Khamzat. He trains super hard, he’s super dedicated and he knows where he wants to be,” Till says.
Check out the full interview above!
Watch exclusive footage with Darren Till and Khamzat Chimaev:
Read more: Khamzat Chimaev clears the air on Khabib fallout: “People think I hate him”
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