"He does not get tired" - Darren Till believes Khamzat Chimaev will be a tough challenge for both Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman
Darren Till believes that Khamzat Chimaev could pose a tough challenge for both UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
In an edition of Kickin it with Ashah on Frontkick.online, ‘The Gorilla’ was asked about Henry Cejudo recently claiming that Khamzat Chimaev would easily defeat Israel Adesanya. Till responded by stating:
“If Khamzat gets a hold of Adesanya, Adesanya’s going to have a really tough night. He’s f**king super strong, man. As I told you, the most impressive thing is his physical condition. He does not get tired. So, can you imagine having a guy like that for five rounds? That’s very tough.”
Till alluded to Chimaev having fought at both welterweight and middleweight. He highlighted that 'Borz' first has to win the UFC welterweight title. ‘The Gorilla’ opined that Chimaev could win the welterweight title but would have to get past some tough competition.
He recalled training with top-tier UFC welterweight Leon Edwards and lauded him for being very technical. He also referenced the presence of other talented fighters in the welterweight division, including reigning champion Kamaru Usman and former interim champion Colby Covington. Till said:
“I think it’s the same as the middleweight division. It’s an open-wide division. All the guys are so good. They’re so good, but one thing that impressed me about Khamzat is his physical condition. When he grabs hold of you, he just doesn’t stop. He’s like a ‘Gorilla,’ but I’m ‘The Gorilla.’ He’s ‘The Wolf.’”
Watch Darren Till’s interview with Frontkick.online in the video below:
Darren Till and Khamzat Chimaev on training together in Sweden
Darren Till recently flew from the UK to Stockholm, Sweden, to train at the Allstars gym with fellow UFC stars like Khamzat Chimaev and Alexander Gustafsson. In a video uploaded to the Blockasset YouTube channel, Till and ‘Borz' opened up on their experience of training with one another. Till noted:
"Going to learn a lot, mate. I don't have an ego here. I'm here to get beat up, to learn, yeah."
Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev praised Darren Till’s striking prowess and said:
"Nice to work with best guys in the world. I love it. I work on the grappling and wrestling, he'll learn something. Next time we work on the striking, I learn something, it works like that. I'm happy he's here."
Check out their sparring and workout sessions together below:
Till’s next opponent hasn’t been officially announced yet. That said, he’d expressed interest in possibly fighting middleweight contenders Sean Strickland or Jack Hermansson next. As for Chimaev, he’s expected to fight Gilbert Burns in a welterweight bout at UFC 273 on April 9th.