Darren Till thinks Khamzat Chimaev will leave a bigger MMA legacy than Khabib Nurmagomedov.
‘The Eagle’ retired with a perfect 29-0 record after choking Justin Gaethje unconscious at UFC 254 in October 2020.
Khabib Nurmagomedov was just 32 years old at the time, and many people believed his decision to walk away from the sport was premature – but he’s still remembered as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history.
Darren Till respects the Russian phenom, even though he believes Khamzat Chimaev will outdo him in the next few years.
- READ MORE: Khamzat Chimaev joins Khabib Nurmagomedov as he pays tribute after ‘best wrestler ever’ passes away
Darren Till backs Khamzat Chimaev to outdo Khabib Nurmagomedov
Till and Chimaev used to train together before the Englishman was cut by the UFC in 2023.
Since then, Till has launched a boxing career and stopped training with the 14-0 MMA superstar.
They remain very good friends, who often cheer each other on through social media and in interviews.
Till recently expressed his view that Chimaev will have a greater impact on MMA than Nurmagomedov.
“Khabib was very dominant,” he said during an interview with Genting Casino.
“But Khabib didn’t fight for as long as he should have, God rest his father’s soul.
“Yeah, Khamzat can definitely get past Khabib in terms of dominating grappling.”
Darren Till predicts Dricus du Plessis vs Khamzat Chimaev
Chimaev seemingly earned himself a middleweight title shot by tapping out Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 last October.
Fight fans are impatiently waiting for a clash with 185lb king Dricus du Plessis to be officially announced.
After training with Chimaev and sharing the Octagon with Du Plessis, Till is better placed than most to predict their upcoming fight, which he thinks is going to look like a complete mismatch.
“I think Chimaev is gonna run over him,” Till added.
“I think he’ll just completely run over. That’s what I think. I think he’ll win the title.”
“I just think he [DDP] does everything so bad, it’s good. I just think he’s so good at doing everything so bad. He defies physics. He needs Isaac Newton to study him because it doesn’t make sense.
“But listen, he beat me fair and square. There was nothing to say about that. Give the man his props.
“I just think he does it all really bad but it all comes together really well. That’s what I think.”