Darren Till is supremely confident heading into his hometown bout with Stephen Thompson at UFC Liverpool.
Darren Till was ‘gutted’ he couldn’t make it to the UFC 25th anniversary press conference earlier this month, where he missed out on the opportunity to square off with Stephen Thompson ahead of their welterweight scrap at UFC Liverpool.
Till, who was unable to attend the media conference due to a family matter back home, might have missed out on the opportunity to size up his opponent in New York but promises to put the ‘fear of God’ in ‘Wonderboy’ in the weeks leading up to the bout.
“I was gutted I couldn’t make it,” Till told Peter Carroll of MMA Fighting in a recent interview.
“It would have been good to put the fear of God in him, wouldn’t it? I only watched some bits of [the 25th anniversary press conference]. I know people wanted me to be there, but I really couldn’t be there. I know people wanted to see me face off with Stephen and what would happen, but don’t worry that’s all coming.”
Till might not have been in attendance for this month’s press conference but the Liverpudlian took notice of Thompson’s derogatory comments towards him. Thompson believes Till is ‘overconfident’ and hasn’t been particularly impressed with his stint in the UFC thus far.
‘The Gorilla’ was shocked, to say the least, when the usually soft spoken Thompson criticized his accomplishments.
“I did see it. I really didn’t think it was Stephen Thompson when I was listening to him,” Till said of Thompson’s comments at the anniversary press conference. “He usually comes across as a good, respectful guy when he’s talking about his opponents.
“Why is he talking like that about me? Is he upset that he had to take the fight against me? You know, I’m a nobody as far as some people are concerned, but I really didn’t think that was the real Stephen Thompson.”
Till, 25, is undefeated after seventeen professional fights and most recently dispatched of MMA veteran Donald Cerrone in the first round of UFC Fight Night 118’s main event at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland.
The surging welterweight expects a tough fight against two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson and believes a win should catapult him into title contention.
“I don’t want a walk in the park. I want to fight the best. Let’s get one thing straight, I’m not in this to make money and to win belts, f*ck all that. I’m in this to be a legend and to be the greatest fighter ever,” he said.
“At the end of the day everyone in the UFC is a good fighter, but here I am fighting the No. 1 guy in my hometown. If I beat him does that make me No. 1? We’ll see. I want a big challenge. I want to test myself. I’m not scared of anyone and I’m not scared of Stephen, no way.”
UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till will mark the UFC’s debut in Till’s hometown of Liverpool, England. The event takes place next month, May 27, at the Echo Arena.