I don’t want to write a Darren Till dissenting article.
I like “The Gorilla”. He’s an entertaining following on social media, and it’s not like Till is without talent. Mediocre fighters don’t knock down Stephen Thompson. They don’t earn title shots or bring Robert Whittaker to a split decision. They certainly don’t start their professional fighting careers with 18-fight unbeaten streaks.
It’s just hard not to be demoralized by Till’s last two performances. Again, I want to lose a close to highly regarded Whittaker – Till has done better than top-ranked contenders like Jared Cannonier and Marvin Vettori. Those last two fights, however, really exposed weaknesses in Till’s game that were only theorized.
Now they feel tested.
First of all, Till’s technical wrestling defense is just… bad. I was hesitant to admit it after the loss to Derek Brunson. Till was injured and out of shape, and Brunson is a damn good wrestler. Excuses, sure, but excuses are legitimate in mixed martial arts (MMA). Poor performances happen and Till’s takedown defense at 170 pounds was still very good.
Unfortunately, it really looks like the size can be credited. Dricus du Plessis is not Brunson. Most of his shots were pretty awful last night. Nonetheless, each managed to topple Till, who regularly made poor decisions. Till continually tried to score inversions, trying switches and butterfly raises rather than just extending and blocking du Plessis’ header to the canvas.
What is the point of Khamzat camaraderie if this is the result?
Second, Till has long been accused of being a one-note striker. I don’t know if it’s so dramatic: Till has more than his left cross. However, almost all of his attack comes from that left side. Left cross, left hook, left elbow – that’s mostly it. Till feints with his leading team, but it hasn’t done anything worthwhile since he kicked Thompson’s knee and tore ligaments.
Du Plessis gave Till so many opportunities. He blew his wad by hitting the bejeezus of Till’s gloves (and sometimes face) in the first round, impressing the referee more than causing fight-ending damage. When Till finally wrestled the hands – why did it take Till four minutes to address wrist control, a fundamental aspect of wrestling control? — and breaks away, du Plessis is exhausted.
Till landed some good shots. He scored some cool trips, a trademark technique from the England striker. Then, in rounds two and three, Till seemed out of ideas. He managed to land a few decent shots, but on several occasions du Plessis would simply raise his right elbow high and believe that whatever cross/elbow/left hook that came his way would be at least partially blocked.
This frustrated Till to no end. He feigned wildly, drew a reaction from du Plessis, and then… didn’t know what to do when du Plessis raised guard to his right. Until he didn’t even have to step away to the left side, he could have just hit the midsection instead!
I mean Till is more talented than he showed last night, but maybe it’s more accurate to say he has been. He can’t make welterweight the healthy way, nor can Till handle the physique of men like du Plessis. As Till walks away from another fight potentially with another knee injury, it’s really hard to see how “The Gorilla” rebounds in any meaningful way.
To complete UFC 282: Results “Ankalaev vs. Blachowicz” and play-by-play, click on HERE.
#UFC #Morning #Fall #Darren
