Darren Till 'loving every single second of my life' with new UFC deal, training partner Khamzat Chimaev

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — UFC middleweight Darren Till has a new training partner in breakout star Khamzat Chimaev. He also has a new UFC contract.

Till (18-4-1), of Liverpool, made headlines this week when he surfaced at Allstars Training Center alongside Chimaev (10-0). Till told ESPN he is still associated with his longtime training camp, Team Kaobon in England, but wanted to spend time around Chimaev, one of the fastest-rising stars in the sport.

«I got the feeling he's a lot like me,» Till told ESPN. «No bulls---. He's just a guy who trains hard and is a little bit crazy. I wanted to put myself back in the beginner seat. I remember when I first walked into Team Kaobon and I was a beginner… I came in with my tail between my legs and I'm loving every single second of my life right now.»

Till, 29, rose rapidly to a UFC welterweight title fight in 2018, but since then he has switched weight classes and lost four of his past five fights. Despite that, Till has been a steady headliner for the UFC, and the promotion recently rewarded him for that with a new contract. Till did not disclose terms of the deal, but said he was grateful the UFC still wished to heavily invest in his career.

After a submission loss to Derek Brunson in September, Till said he couldn't even fly home to face his family and friends. He initially stayed in Las Vegas and is now in Stockholm indefinitely. He is also recovering from a knee injury. His coach, Colin Heron, told ESPN that Till tore an ACL prior to his loss to Brunson, but Till has refused to use that as an excuse.

«After that Derek fight, I was looking at myself in the mirror and it wasn't me, I wasn't Darren Till,» Till said. "[Chimaev] fully believes he's going to smash every guy and make