UFC star Darren Till still believes he could defeat Israel Adesanya if the two ever met inside the Octagon.

In recent years we’ve seen Darren Till and Israel Adesanya head down two incredibly different paths. While ‘The Last Stylebender’ has successfully defended the UFC middleweight title four times, Till is 1-4 in his last five outings with three of those defeats being stoppage losses.

For someone who was once tipped to be the next Conor McGregor, that doesn’t exactly make for promising reading.

Alas, the new friendship he’s been able to strike up with Khamzat Chimaev has given many fans hope that he’s serious about turning his fortunes around.

We all know he’s a fair distance off of receiving a shot at the belt but in a recent interview with Submission Radio, ‘The Gorilla’ didn’t rule out the prospect of him battling Adesanya in the future.

“Yeah, I feel like Adesanya’s a long way off,” Till said. “I feel like I just got to get a few wins under my belt and prove how good I am to the people again. Obviously, as soon as I get that title fight and win, I know I can beat Adesanya. The sky’s the limit then. The possibilities are endless.

“I’ve just got to work hard and stay humble and do the right things and have a good supportive group around me.”

The two have had some fun interactions in the past and we can only imagine what the build-up to their showdown would actually look like.

The next step for Adesanya

Although it has yet to be officially confirmed, Israel Adesanya looks set to defend the 185-pound crown for a fifth time this summer when Jared Cannonier steps up to the plate.

If he can get past him, some wonder whether or not he’ll give serious consideration to a light heavyweight shift.

He tried it once before when attempting to take the championship away from Jan Blachowicz but given that he’ll turn 33 later this year, he may want to strike while the iron is hot.

For Till, that means it’s time to get back in there - and fast.