Jared Cannonier and Darren Till have one thing in common, and that is their choice of nicknames.
“The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier and “The Gorilla” Till have another thing in common too, they are both eyeing a shot at the middleweight title. The 185-pound contenders could both be one victory away from earning a fight against the division’s champion, Israel Adesanya. The Gorillas were rumoured to fight each other at UFC 248, but visa problems for Till and an injury from Cannonier meant the primate vs. primate matchup never happened.
Cannonier is open to an Octagon meeting with the British fighter in the future but has shut down any competition over their shared nickname.
“I think I was ‘The Killa Gorilla’ before he was ‘The Gorilla,’ so he can kiss my a*s about changing names and stuff like that,” Cannonier said to Submission Radio.
“Like I said, if he needs that for motivation, he can have that. He can do that himself, play out the scenario however he needs to. But at the end of the day, a fight’s a fight, names are just words. So, what we’re fighting for is something bigger than the name, I feel. We’re trying to get that title, we’re trying to cement whatever name I choose for you guys to call me. Cement that there in legacy or history.
“But Darren is a funny guy on social media…Darren, he be on the social media, posting ‘Jared?’ I guess I don’t know what that means, ‘Jared question mark.’ What? What’s the question? Like, do I want to fight? I already said yes. So, now you’re gonna have to wait.”
Cannonier continued by calling out Till’s “stupid” behaviour on social media.
“Darren likes to troll people,” he said. “That’s what the kids are doing nowadays on social media. They’re trolling everybody, just doing something completely ignorant and stupid, saying whatever comes to mind, which is usually something stupid or ignorant to get a rise out of people, a reaction out of people. But I’m a grown-ass man, and I’m gonna sit here and laugh at the dumb sh*t and acknowledge the real sh*t. So, you won’t see me acknowledging any of that dumb sh*t.”
Who do you think would win a showdown between the Gorillas Darren till and Jared Cannonier?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 3/16/2020.