Khamzat Chimaev will face off against the former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia next month. Khamzat Chimaev is currently unbeaten and has been able to defeat Karmaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. However, despite these victories he still has people question if he will be able to compete against the former champion Robert Whittaker. However, close friend, Darren Till is not one of these doubters as he predicts Khamzat Chimaev will be able to defeat the former champion with a second-round knockout.
Khamzat Chimaev is the current number ten ranked middleweight contender who was able to improve to 13-0 last October. This was when Chimaev was able to get a controversial majority decision victory over Kamaru Usman. Chimaev started his UFC Career off in the welterweight division and this fight against Usman was both fighter’s first fight in the Middleweight division.
Robert Whittaker is a former middleweight champion who was able to clinch the title back in 2017. This was due to Robert Whittaker defeating Yoel Romero by unanimous decision. Whittaker would go on to defend the title once before losing the title to Iseral Adesnaya. Whittaker was able to get back into the win column back in February 2024. This was when the former champion was able to get a unanimous decision victory over former UFC Middleweight title challenger, Paulo Costa.
Darren Till Predicting Khamzat Chimaev to Get a Knockout
Darren Till is a former UFC Middleweight title challenger who was unsuccessful. Till was defeated by Tyron Woodley in the 2nd round due to a D’Arce Choke. However, he is backing his close friend and training partner Khamzat Chimaev to be able to defeat Robert Whittaker. Darren Till even predicted that Chimaev wouldn’t need the judge’s scorecards either in Riyadh and instead get the victory due to knockout. Speaking to The Mac Life Darren Till explained;
“I think he’s (Khamzat Chimaev) gonna beat him (Robert Whittaker) in the second round,”
“Khamzat’s got power on the feet. He can really punch and kick. It’s gonna be a good fight.”
Robert Whittaker has also issued a warning to the unbeaten prospect. Whittaker claims if Chimaev is not able to keep his cardio in check next month then he would hand Chimaev an early night.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images