UFC welterweight contender Darren Till eyes a showdown in Brazil against Rafael dos Anjos.
The UFC welterweight division is in an interesting position right now, as literally none of the top-10 ranked contenders is scheduled to fight on any UFC show, and neither is division champion Tyron Woodley. To be fair, literally all of them fought between October-January, so the late spring and summer should get things restarted.
One fighter looking at making his return soon is Darren Till, the undefeated Brit who just thumped Donald Cerrone back in October. Till wanted a showdown with two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson, but with “Wonderboy” sidelined, that hasn’t materialized. Instead, Till (16-0-1) has his sights set on not just fighting Rafael dos Anjos, but taking him on in Brazil, where the Liverpool-native previously lived and trained for several years.
“Just because of his fan base there,” Till said to MMA Fighting, “and I’ve obviously lived there. I’ve got a lot of fans there, and I can speak the language. It would be a good sell in Brazil, if he’s willing to do it.
“I know he’s waiting for [Tyron] Woodley but Woodley doesn’t seem to want to come back.”
Dos Anjos is coming off a wide unanimous decision win over Robbie Lawler, and is a perfect 3-0 at 170 pounds. The former lightweight champion is supposed to get the next title shot vs. Woodley, per Dana White, but the fight has not yet been booked, and Woodley seems to have other ideas on who he wants to face.
Should Till not get his wish to fight RDA in Brazil, he’d love to make his debut in the United States, and cited names such as Santiago Ponzinibbio, Kamaru Usman, and Stephen Thompson on his list. There was talk of him fighting Gunnar Nelson at UFC London next week, but John Kavanagh claimed Till was sick and wouldn’t have been able to compete on that card.
In the event Till lands on UFC 224, RDA or not, that card will be at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on May 12th.