Khamzat Chimaev is one day away from the biggest fight of his burgeoning career at UFC 273. While the Sweden resident has displayed unshakeable confidence throughout the build-up to his matchup with Gilbert Burns, new best friend, Darren Till wants to make it clear that nerves are always present.

Another one of Till’s buddies, Tom Aspinall recently made history as the quickest to win five UFC bouts. On Saturday night, if Chimaev can manage to defeat the UFC’s No. 2 ranked welterweight Burns in 90 seconds, he’ll beat Aspinall’s time.

“I’m not gonna say I want Khamzat to do it but obviously it would be nice to see that then they’re both competing for that, you know what I mean?” Till told TheMacLife regarding the record.

“They’re both phenomenal athletes, myself as well. This sport, what we do — Kamaru Usman, he posted something the other day that hit home with me a lot and I’m sure with a lot of other fighters. 99 percent of the world don’t know what it’s like to be under them lights and face adversity and fear. Listen, for myself as well, I don’t want to talk a lot about excuses but in the past, what I’ve faced, people don’t know the half of it. And to stand in front of that, the fear and the adversity is just something.”

Similar to Chimaev, Till also began his career undefeated before eventually challenging for the welterweight crown against then-champion Tyron Woodley. Till’s lone UFC title opportunity didn’t go in his favor and ultimately led him up to the middleweight division where he’s yet to find his footing with a 1-2 record.

The hype for Till wasn’t quite on the same level of Chimaev’s during his unbeaten run, but he’s well familiar with the brightness of the spotlight and remains one of the sport’s most popular fighters.

“For Khamzat Saturday, you’d be a fool to say he’s not nervous going in there,” Till said. “Obviously, his mentality’s bulletproof and he knows he’s gonna win. But you’re going in that arena and stepping in front of all these people who are depending and hoping; ‘Is he gonna come through?’ It’s a scary thing for all of us fighters.”

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TOP STORIES

Bonus. UFC to debut Crypto.com Bitcoin ‘Fan Bonus of the Night’ for fighters at UFC 273.

Return. Anderson Silva set to box Bruno Machado in eight-round exhibition match in Dubai.

Trouble. Conor McGregor faces 6 charges for alleged dangerous driving incident in March.

Beef. Luke Rockhold to Paulo Costa: ‘You’re just a b****, and your steroids aren’t working anymore.’

Intensity. Khamzat Chimaev slams table during heated exchange with Gilbert Burns at UFC 273 presser.

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VIDEO STEW

UFC 273 Pre-Fight Press Conference.

UFC 273 Preview with Jon Anik.

Embedded 4.

UFC 273: Fighters You Should Know.

Khamzat Chimaev’s path to UFC stardom.

Must See Moments from the LHW Grand Prix So Far.

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LISTEN UP

Heck of a Morning. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck ponders whether or not Aljamain Sterling is being overlooked ahead of UFC 273 rematch with Petr Yan.

UFC 273 Pre-Fight Press Conference Reaction. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Jose Youngs discuss what went down at Thursday’s press conference.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

History repeats itself...?

Conor is hyped.

CCC is serious.

Frankie.

Swing and a miss.

T’is love.

Jake’s making new friends.

T.T. is ready.

Silvana in good company.

BJJ royalty.

Sanford.

Soon.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Aaron Pico (9-3) vs. Adli Edwards (9-1); Bellator 277, Apr. 15

Gaston Bolanos (5-3) vs. Daniel Carey (7-5); Bellator 277, Apr. 15

Tofiq Musayev (18-4) vs. Zach Zane (15-11); Bellator 278, Apr. 22

Ayaka Miura (11-4) vs. Dayana Souza (8-1-1); ONE: Reloaded, Apr 22

Jordan Wright (12-2) vs. Roman Kopylov (8-2); UFC Vegas 52, Apr. 23

Marcin Prachnio (15-5) vs. Philipe Lins (14-5); UFC Vegas 52, Apr. 23

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FINAL THOUGHTS

Happy Friday, folks. Enjoy the weekend of action and thanks for reading.

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EXIT POLL

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