Darren Till has suffered an injury and has been forced out of his scheduled Middleweight bout against Marvin Vettori, which was supposed to headline the upcoming UFC Vegas 23 fight card on April 10.
That’s according to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, who brought word of the unfortunate news earlier today (Tues. March 30, 2021).
This is the latest setback for Till since his original comeback fight was supposed to be against Jack Hermansson at UFC Vegas 16 in Dec. 2020 but was ultimately scratched after “The Gorilla” suffered another injury. Interestingly enough it was Vettori who got the call to step in and fill the void after Kevin Holland — Till’s original replacement — was forced out.
Till confirmed on Instagram that a broken collarbone is the latest health setback that has forced him out of the fight.
“I’ve been sat here for a good few hours debating how to say this & put into words what I’m feeling & just going to say it straight… IVE BROKEN MY COLLARBONE! I’m out my fight next week against Marvin,” he wrote.
“Every person who is around me or who has been around me knows I train on a daily basis with fucked up knees, lower back, shoulders, hands and the list goes on. Yesterday while drilling I fell and straight away I knew I’d broken something. To say I’m fucking destroyed by it is an understatement.” he added.
“I’ve literally put my heart, soul, mind, physical body, cash, nutrition, sleep, recovery & then some into making sure I went out there next week & took his head off. And I was 100% sure I was going to… and with ease. I’m sure he was thinking the same but ahh well…I am sorry Marvin Vettori. I hope you get a new opponent and we can do this sometime soon in the future, I respect you highly as a competitor.”
Upon hearing the news of Till’s injury, an irate Vettori opened up his social media account to throw some shade toward “The Gorilla’s” way and offered up an open invitation to anyone willing to take the fight.
“Always do my part 100% and these bunch of pussies can’t make it,” wrote “The Italian Dream” on Twitter. “I’m next in line for the title, whoever has something to say show the fuck up in 2 weeks so I can whoop your ass and shut you off for good.”
Speaking of which, Hewlani is reporting that Kevin Holland has offered to step up to face Vettori on just a couple of week’s notice.
Kevin Holland has accepted to step in on short notice versus Marvin Vettori on April 10. His team says they are waiting on a reply from the other side, I’m told.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 30, 2021
I already accepted the fight an hour ago….. #callbigmouth https://t.co/xY7viueXZ2 pic.twitter.com/6ETxLKOF2f
— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top) March 30, 2021
Holland is just a little over a week removed from a tough loss at the hands of Derek Brunson at UFC Vegas 22, so what better way to get over the defeat than to jump right back on the horse?