There was a time in the not-too-distant past when Darren Till was ranked No. 2 in the world at 170 pounds, but a series of brutal weight cuts and a pair of high-profile losses to Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal sent “The Gorilla” up to middleweight.
Unfortunately for Till, the competition didn’t get any easier, resulting in a 1-2 record with multiple injuries and bout cancellations. His last appearance ended in a submission loss to Derek Brunson in the UFC Vegas 36 headliner in late 2021.
“It’s not like Darren Till hasn’t fought top-level competition well,” analyst Daniel Cormier said on his ESPN “DC & RC” show (transcribed by Farah Hannoun). “Darren Till was at one point fighting for the world welterweight championship, went up to 185, fought Robert Whittaker in a very competitive fight, and we know how good Robert Whittaker is, but we have to see the consistency . The only thing about Till is that he is very popular. People still recognize him and honestly, before Leon Edwards became the champion, Till was still the most popular English fighter because he is recognizable and he has a great personality. He’s a character, but the reality is that the character only gets you so far. You have to win fights.
Till (18-4-1) managed to hold on to his Top 10 middleweight spot, but his championship dreams could be over for now if “The Gorilla” loses to No. 13-ranked Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 282. this weekend in Las Vegas.
“Darren Till has those skills, he now trains out of Sweden with guys like Khamzat and Andreas Michael and the whole Allstars MMA team,” Cormier continued. “He has to implement what they teach and has to do it in a way that reminds everyone who Darren Till is and who was between 170 and 185 years old. He’s still young enough to make another run for a championship opportunity. But it all starts on Saturday, and if he can’t get past Du Plessis, it might be over for now for Till, but it would skyrocket Dricus up the rankings in some very, very important fights.
We’ll find out tomorrow night at “Sin City”.
MMAmania.com will provide live, round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 282 fight card right herestarting with the ESPN+ Online “Prelims” matches, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN2/ESPN+) at 8:00 p.m. ET before the start time of the main PPV card at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
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