Darren Till expects Khamzat Chimaev to move up to middleweight but confident he “can make welterweight comfortably”

Darren Till still believes his training partner Khamzat Chimaev can make welterweight.

At UFC 279, Chimaev missed weight by 7.5lbs for his welterweight fight against Nate Diaz. That forced the UFC to change the entire card around and Chimaev ended up fighting and beating Kevin Holland. However, after the event, Dana White said the Swede will now likely go up to middleweight, and for Till he believes that is the right move but believes Chimaev can still make welterweight.

“I wouldn’t (advise him to go back to welterweight). But, the only thing I know with Khamzat is he can make welterweight comfortably because his body carries so much muscle and muscle carries the most water,” Till said to ESPN about Chimaev. “When you are doing a weight cut, the more muscle you have the easier it is to lose, to drop the weight because your muscle carries a lot of water. You can’t trim fat in one night. Khamzat needs to come in fight week, maybe – it’s not much – one kilo, two kilos lighter and he will make the weight comfortable. Just a few adjustments. He’s still new.”

Although Darren Till thinks Khamzat Chimaev should fight his next bout at middleweight, he does expect a return to welterweight. He also remains confident Chimaev will be the UFC’s welterweight champion next time out. It is also the first time Chimaev has missed weight in his UFC tenure so it wouldn’t be a shock to see the UFC book him for another 170lbs fight but he will likely need to prove he can make it again before they book him for a title fight.

Prior to the win over Holland, Chimaev picked up the biggest win of his career as he defeated Gilbert Burns. As for Till, he’s set to return at UFC 282 against Dricus Du Plessis.

Do you think Khamzat Chimaev can still make welterweight?