Darren Till has abandoned his iconic Sweet Caroline walkout.
Before there was Paddy Pimblett, England’s Till had one of the most interactive and entertaining walkout entrances in all of mixed martial arts (MMA). “The Gorilla” used to make his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) entrances with Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline blaring over the speakers and the entire crowd singing along.
Till (18-5-1) left the tune behind after a 1-3 stretch in his four fights from 2018 to 2020. For his UFC Apex clash with Derek Brunson in Sept. 2021, Till chose no music for his entrance. His most recent appearance at UFC 282 in Dec. 2022 opposite Dricus Du Plessis saw the Brit use Tourner Dans Le Vide by French artist Indila, a song often attached to viral clips of the controversial social media figure, Andrew Tate.
“I know he’s very controversial but I don’t think he’s a bad person and that theme tune for me is just sick,” Till told Basketball Insiders. “When I’ve seen some of the viral videos I’ve just thought yeah that’s a bit of me. I’m a fan of his but not of all his views and that’s just the way the world works.”
Unfortunately for Till, the change-up in music wasn’t enough to help him get back in the win column despite his Fight of the Night earning efforts at UFC 282. Du Plessis defeated Till with a third-round rear-naked choke submission (watch highlights).
As for Tate, the former kickboxer and his brother have since been detained by Romanian police and are under investigation for human trafficking and face charges of rape and organized crime.
“I think your average person is getting more familiar with how the world works thanks to social media,” Till said. “But as the phrase goes, you’re innocent until proven guilty, aren’t you? I’ve been thinking about giving my opinion on Twitter but I’ve got half a million followers and as soon as I give my opinion you never know what the reaction might be so I’ve stepped back. If he is guilty then obviously that’s not good but equally he might be innocent.”