Darren Till says Khamzat Chimaev’s only real UFC title threat needs to move up two weight classes

Khamzat Chimaev’s UFC 319 title win came without Darren Till in his corner, as the Englishman was busy preparing for his own bout against Luke Rockhold in Misfits Boxing.

But despite not being there, Till was still keeping a close eye on things and said he does not see anyone between 170 and 205 pounds who can really test his friend right now.

“There might be a few fighters who are up and coming but right now, there’s nobody. I think there’s better fights for him at 170lb, maybe Islam [Makhachev] or something like that,” he said to Bloody Elbow.

“If Islam goes up to 170lb that’s a good fight, Ankalaev is the champ at 205lb, but I think he beats Ankalaev. I think Islam is a hard fight for him, I really do.”

Darren Till reacts to Khamzat Chimaev’s stunning UFC 319 win

Khamzat Chimaev’s five-round shutout of Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 did not just earn him the middleweight title – it also pushed his professional record to 15-0, with plenty of fans calling for him to take on even tougher tests.

There was some criticism that he didn’t push harder for a finish, but Darren Till was quick to shut that down.

“His grappling is next to none. The way he puts it all together is phenomenal, you can’t fault it in any way. I spoke to him a little bit, he’s off living his best life in Dubai and I’m sure I’ll see him when I get there properly, I’m sure he’ll be watching Saturday.

“I thought it was brilliant from a grappling aspect, I thought it was technical, he done everything he needed to do to get the win and it was brilliant, I loved watching it. You can’t always get the finish and he’s the champion now so let’s see who can overthrow him.”