Darren Till Says Khamzat Chimaev Can Beat Sean Strickland in Rematch
Darren Till says Khamzat Chimaev can beat Sean Strickland in a rematch, and he does not treat their first title fight as a one-sided night. The former UFC title challenger argued that the scorecards in Newark were close enough to lean toward Chimaev as well.
Till made the comments in a recent Full Mount MMA interview. He is speaking from more than outsider opinion. He trained with Chimaev at Allstars Training Center in Sweden and has called the Chechen fighter a friend.
Strickland took the UFC middleweight title from Chimaev by split decision in the UFC 328 main event on May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Two judges scored the five-round fight 48-47 for Strickland. The third had it 48-47 for Chimaev.
That result was Chimaev’s first professional loss. He fell to 15-1 and dropped the belt he had won by sweeping Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319. Strickland moved to 31-7 and became a two-time middleweight champion.
The fight has stayed in the conversation because it never looked settled. Chimaev has spent the months since asking for an immediate title rematch, and he remains the UFC’s No. 1 ranked middleweight.
Till did not dismiss what Strickland showed in that first meeting. He still expects a different outcome if they run it back.
“Sean’s got the belt, but I do think that Khamzat’s gonna come back and beat Sean,” Till said. “I do. And I called it.”
He had already framed the matchup as a tough style problem for Chimaev before the first fight. Strickland’s wrestling resistance and unusual striking rhythm were the reasons.
“I said it’s gonna be a really hard fight for Khamzat,” Till said. “Sean has great takedown defense, and he can get up, and he’s got an awkward style.”
That is the clearest explanation for why Chimaev could not copy the grappling clinic he put on du Plessis. Strickland kept the fight in a kicking and boxing range that forced Chimaev to win rounds the hard way.
Till still would not pick the champion if they meet again. He also admitted the lean is not neutral.
“But if you had to ask me — and I’m a bit biased — I do think that Khamzat can come back and beat Sean,” Till said. “I think he can finish him. But right now, Sean’s got the belt, so he obviously is the apparent best middleweight in the world at the moment.”
The finish call is Till’s prediction, not a forecast from the UFC. It matters because it comes from someone who has shared a gym with Chimaev and still gives Strickland the respect of the belt.
Asked whether Chimaev underperformed or Strickland simply won the fight, Till would not choose one version. He pointed to both.
“Yeah, I think it was a bit of both,” he said. “I think maybe the weight cut could have hurt Khamzat a bit, going into the later rounds.”
He then returned to the scorecards, which is the line driving the rematch talk.
“You could’ve tipped the first fight towards Khamzat as well, let’s not forget that.”
That is the strongest public argument Chimaev’s camp has. One judge already gave him the fight, and Till is now saying a second look at the same night would not have been outrageous.
The UFC has not booked the rematch. CEO Dana White has said Chimaev wants Strickland again and that the company has not decided what comes next.
Strickland has been recovering from a shoulder injury suffered during UFC 328 fight week. He later said the shoulder was “getting solid” but that he still needed more time before returning.
Until he is cleared, the top of the division is stuck in place. Strickland is the champion and No. 7 on the men’s pound-for-pound list. Chimaev is No. 1 at 185 pounds and No. 12 pound-for-pound.
A Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland rematch would settle a title fight that was already 2-1 on the cards. It would also push other 185-pound names further down the line, including No. 3 ranked Nassourdine Imavov, who had been discussed as a first defense before the rematch noise grew louder.
Till’s pick does not change the present picture. Strickland holds the belt, Chimaev is still asking for him, and the UFC has not made the fight.
The next step is medical and matchmaking. Once Strickland is ready, the company can either rebuild the title picture around a new contender or give Chimaev the second night he wants. Till, for his part, is booked to face Yoel Romero in the BKFC 94 main event on Sept. 26 in Manchester.