Khamzat Chimaev has explained why he feels nervous ahead of Darren Till’s return to the Octagon.

Next month at UFC 282, Darren Till will return to the cage for the first time in well over a year.

He’ll lock horns with Dricus du Plessis, a man who hasn’t been shy about his desire to make a name for himself at the expense of ‘The Gorilla’.

Till, who has had a handful of fights postponed and cancelled in recent years, used his Derek Brunson defeat as motivation to try and turn his career around.

Read more: UFC 282: Darren Till reveals how he sustained horrific eye injury

The first step he took was entering a new environment, taking up training with Khamzat Chimaev and his team.

‘Borz’ has a record that speaks for itself in the Ultimate Fighting Championship with the majority of fans expecting him to become a UFC champion sooner rather than later.

He’s helped Till in more ways than one and on December 10, he’ll hope all of that hard work pays off.

Of course, there’s bound to be some level of anxiety resting within Chimaev, as he confirmed in a recent interview with ESPN.

Video: Khamzat Chimaev is nervous about Darren Till’s comeback

“Yes, of course brother. You never know, it’s like when I fight.

“Me and Darren become so close, he knows my family and I know his family. I know his kids, they are so cute, he has three kids. I love that guy, like my brother. So, of course I will be nervous. He is in good shape, he was training good and Tiger Muay Thai was with him. I couldn’t go there because of my family so I’ve been there.”

The fight is expected to take place on the prelims, although that has yet to be 100% confirmed.

Khamzat’s return

After getting past Gilbert Burns and Kevin Holland so far this year, Khamzat Chimaev appears to be on a collision course with the UFC welterweight championship.

Whether or not he gets that opportunity in 2023 has yet to be seen based on his own middleweight ambitions, but it does seem like the UFC is hoping to book him against Colby Covington in the first quarter of next year.

Read more: UFC 282: Fight Card, Jon Jones, Date, Live Stream and more

If he wins that, then a title meeting with Leon Edwards or Kamaru Usman in the second half of 2023 could be inevitable.