Darren Till has changed his mind on who Khamzat Chimaev’s sternest test at welterweight is.
Till used to see the wrestling and cardio of Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington potentially posing issues for his teammate Chimaev (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).
But after Leon Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) claimed the welterweight title, he sees the champion’s skillset as the most well-rounded and dangerous for Chimaev.
“I think he’s going to be the welterweight world champion. I really do,” Till said on “Smack Talk With Sandhu.” “I’ve changed my mind on who I think is going to be his toughest fight as well. I used to think Usman or Colby would be his toughest fight.
“I actually think Leon could be his toughest fight. Just because of his takedown defense and his striking. If I had to say his toughest fight in the welterweight division, I think it would be Leon… I’d like to see Khamzat get one more fight before he fights Leon, or potentially just fight Leon straight away.”
Edwards retained his title against Usman at UFC 286 last month, defeating him for the second straight time. He was able to stuff 11 of Usman’s 15 takedown attempts en route to a majority decision win.
Meanwhile, Chimaev hinted that his next fight will be at middleweight, but is yet to have a fight booked. “Borz” rose up the 170-pound ranks when he outlasted former title challenger Gilbert Burns last April at UFC 273. His next fight was a quick submission of Kevin Holland at UFC 279, but it was a catchweight bout after Chimaev missed weight by a whopping 7.5 pounds for his originally scheduled welterweight bout against Nate Diaz.
