It was recently revealed that UFC staple Darren Till was released by the organization as per his request. ‘The Gorilla’ spoke with UFC director Hunter Campbell and requested a release from his contract so he could rehabilitate ongoing knee injuries.
Darren Till may have stayed in the UFC however, some of the work he required on his knee may have flagged problems with USADA. In an interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto, Darren Till explained:
“I want to get some injections in my knee and really take care of my knees. Some of the stuff I want to inject into my knee, am I going to pass some of these tests? There are a lot of hurdles. Maybe I’ll get surgery.” [Transcript courtesy of Sportskeeda]
See the full interview below:
Darren Till on his UFC release
The UFC middleweight fighter says that he has been struggling with ongoing knee issues for quite some time. Darren Till has earned a record of 1-4 over four years and has dropped out of three booked matches due to injuries
While speaking in an interview with MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn, Till explained:
“I’ve been suffering for the past two years, and it’s no secret I think now, at this point. Obviously, I’ve been speaking to Hunter ever since my (Robert) Whittaker fight where I injured my knees. He’s been going crazy at me for like two years. He’s like, ‘Till, I can’t take much more of this.’ He’s like, ‘I’ve got your back, I know you’re going to be a champ.’ Stuff like that he says to me. But he’s like, ‘You need to get your knees right.’ He said this before my last fight, and said it before the fight before that.”
The English-born fighter has been walking around with a torn ACL and MCL. He continued:
“I’ve got a torn ACL in my right knee. Whittaker fight, I tore my MCL. Eight weeks before I fought Derek Brunson, I tore my ACL in the same knee, and the other one is a torn MCL. So, the other one’s not that bad, but the right one, a torn ACL, you don’t get no worse. Every grade is tore.”
Darren Till requested release from the UFC but the two parties still have a good working relationship. ‘The Gorilla’ Till says that he will most likely return to the UFC in the future. He added:
“Maybe I want to leave the UFC for like two years, and just maybe venture out, and obviously look out for my health for two years, and come back and stuff like that. I had a good conversation with him … I’m thinking I’ll be back, no matter what you say, I know I will. Like, we’ve got a good relationship. It’s not like you kicked me out the UFC, I’m asking to be released, and you’re releasing me.” [Transcript courtesy of MMA Junkie]
See the full interview below: