Darren Till believes Khamzat Chimaev is beatable, but he does not see anyone in the current middleweight division capable of doing it right now except possibly the man standing across from him at UFC 328.
Speaking with Full Mount MMA, Till drew on his firsthand experience training with the undefeated champion to offer his most honest assessment of where Chimaev stands heading into his first title defense against Sean Strickland.
“Anyone’s beatable. He knows that himself. That’s why he trains so hard. He’s not stupid. Right now, with the current state of the middleweight division, I don’t see anyone beating him. Sean’s probably got the chance if that, but in this era now, I think he’s going to be dominant.”
Till identified a second fighter outside of Strickland who he believes poses a credible threat, while making clear which matchup excites him most.
“Paulo Costa’s a good fight, because Paulo’s big and strong. I do like that fight as well, I know there’s a big beef there. I think for me the fight that waters my mouth the most is the Sean Strickland fight, and obviously we’re getting that now.”
Chimaev carries a perfect 15-0 record into UFC 328, which takes place May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.