Daniel Cormier has high praise for Khamzat Chimaev but believes hanging out with Darren Till is a mistake

Former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier is concerned over the whole buddy-buddy thing between Khamzat Chimaev and Darren Till.

Chimaev (10-0 MMA) is set to make his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at next weekend’s UFC 273 event against former welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns (20-4 MMA).

The marquee matchup will mark Chimaev’s first fight since October of 2021, where he defeated Li Jingliang in stunning fashion at UFC 267 (see that here). Shortly following that win, ‘Borz’ started training with fellow welterweight / middleweight competitor Darren Till. The pair are now known as the “Smesh Brothers” and have garnered a lot of attention on social media.

While former UFC champion Daniel Cormier admittedly loves watching the budding bromance between Khamzat Chimaev and Darren Till, he can’t help but feel it is a mistake.

‘DC’ explained his theory in a recent interview with MMAFighting:

“I love the whole buddy-buddy thing with Darren Till but I think it’s a mistake. I think he should continue to be a mystery to people. I think he should have as little time in front of the public and showing who he is, pulling the curtain back. I would pull the curtain back as little as I could if I’m Khamzat, just because the mystery is good for him. He’s very scary.”

Khamzat Chimaev, Darren Till, UFC, Sweden — UFC fighters Khamzat Chimaev and Darren Till train together in Sweden

If Khamzat Chimaev is able to defeat Gilbert Burns next weekend, many fans and pundits believe his next fight will come against UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

‘DC’ weighed in on the possibility:

“To say anyone will knock off Kamaru Usman is a lot, but if there’s a guy that seems to be a challenge, it seems to be this guy,” Daniel Cormier said. “I can only imagine what the odds would look like if it was Chimaev-Usman. I would love to see the odds when Usman and Burns opened up, because I can’t imagine it was as high as this is. I think that speaks to the dominance that Chimaev has put on paper to this point. It’s big shoes. It’s a lot of hype to live up. The dude seems to have the goods.”

Do you agree with Daniel Cormier that Khamzat Chimaev is making a mistake hanging out with Darren Till?