Darren Till has received contact from Khamzat Chimaev about getting the band back together ahead of his highly-anticipated world title opportunity.
The pair shared a bromance that captured the MMA world’s imaginations towards the end of 2022, but when Till left the UFC for a boxing career their training partnership dwindled. But they will get back together as Chimaev begins to train for a shot at Dricus Du Plessis and the UFC middleweight title.
It is expected that Chimaev and Du Plessis will fight later this year for the belt, after reports of an injury to the champion were rubbished last week. And with Till knowing how it feels to be in there with Du Plessis from their 2023 showdown, he will be a valuable asset to Chimaev.
Darren Till and Khamzat Chimaev are reuniting for Dricus Du Plessis fight
Ahead of his return to the ring for Misfits Boxing ring for a fight with Darren Stewart on May 16 in Derby, Darren Till has been back in contact with Khamzat Chimaev. Having already given the champion a good go in his final UFC fight, the Brit is expected to return to Chimaev’s camp for the title decider.
“He asked me to come over and help with the striking stuff,” Till told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive chat. “So I said I would. If the stars align for that I’d love to get over for that… I spend loads of time in Dubai, my mate Bren is out there.
“So I’d love to go over to be honest. I love Khamzat, he’s one of my good friends still, we FaceTime a lot… I think Khamzat the first two rounds is unstoppable. Obviously his cardio and conditioning has been questioned but I think he’s fit as f—.
“If he’s so prepared for a fight like that, I don’t see how DDP beats him. But DDP keeps beating everyone, so I’m not going to look past him but I just can’t see him beating Khamzat, he’s just too strong for him and he’ll submit him, that’s what I’m predicting.”
Darren Till came close to beating Dricus Du Plessis in memorable fight
When Till had his chance at Du Plessis, he struggled in the first before taking complete control of the action in the second. He seemed to be cruising to a points win or at least a draw in the third before being taken down and submitted.
Indeed, it would appear that Du Plessis’ ability to snatch the most unlikely victories from the jaws of defeat is what has made him such a dominant champion. He has pulled off underdog wins over the likes of Robert Whittaker, Israel Adesanya and Sean Strickland on his run to gold.
“He’s beat them all,” Till said of his and other fighters’ experiences with the champion. “You have to give the guy props, he gets the win, he gets the job done so who are we to hate? Who are we to judge? Fair play to the guy, that’s what I think anyway.”
Darren Till faces Darren Stewart in the main event of Misfits & DAZN X-Series 21 on Friday May 16. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster, while international viewers can watch as part of the DAZN subscription.
