Darren Till suffered a disappointing defeat to Derek Brunson this past weekend.
The Englishman was fancied to establish himself as a true middleweight contender against Brunson but put in a seriously below-par performance and ultimately suffered a third-round submission loss – his fourth loss in five fights.
Michael Bisping claimed after the fight that his countryman was carrying an injury into the fight.
”I went backstage to talk to Darren Till, and he was frustrated,” Bisping told BT Sport. “He tore his ACL 10 weeks ago. Certainly with that kind of injury, that would’ve hampered his performance. But you can’t take anything away from Derek Brunson.”
Till and his team have remained silent since the defeat, not speaking to confirm or deny Bisping’s claim, until now.
Colin Heron, who is the Head Coach at Team Kaobon, told Brett Okamoto of ESPN, that Till had indeed torn his ACL in the build-up to UFC Vegas 36.
“It happened about nine weeks out, wrestling. We got it scanned, looked at properly. The results came back as a completely torn ACL,” Heron told Okamoto. “So, he’s out, isn’t he? That was the advice from the doctors… Darren being Darren, he said, ‘Can we give it two weeks and see if I can start running and hitting pads?’ And I’m like, ‘No, not really. A torn ACL doesn’t get better by itself. You’re talking surgery and then six months of rehab alone.’ But before you know it he’s talked me into it, as he does. I’ve really only got one option, then; support him, whatever his decision is.”
Till has had no luck with injuries as of late. The Scouser was forced out of fights with Jack Hermansson and Marvin Vettori due to injury. He also suffered a serious knee issue during his fight with Robert Whittaker on ‘Fight Island’ last year.
Do you think Darren Till will bounce back from this injury and his recent run of defeats?