Darren Till was expected to make some noise after abandoning the welterweight division — and the brutal weights cut that came with it — but in three middleweight appearances, the 28 year-old “Gorilla” is just 1-2 and got finished by Derek Brunson his last time out.
That hasn’t stopped the promotion from offering Till (18-4-1) a slew of Top 10 opponents for his next fight, which is likely to take place at the London card next March. That includes middleweight “Tarzan” Sean Strickland, ranked one spot above Till at No. 7.
“There were a few options they threw out to me,” Till told Michael Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast (transcribed by MMA Fighting). “One fight I really liked was Sean Strickland. They offered him as well, and I actually said to Sean — because I’ve seen him a few times at the UFC — I said, ‘Sean, if you want to get it on at some point, let’s do it because I think you’re a good fighter, I think it would be a good fight.’ So listen, I’m still fighting the top and that’s how it is.”
Strickland (24-3), who also jumped up from the welterweight division, has won five straight including last July’s unanimous decision victory over Uriah Hall. Unfortunately for “Tarzan,” he gets more attention for his bizarre antics outside the cage (sample here).
Nothing is official at this time and there’s a good chance Strickland won’t want to wait until March for his next fight. That said, the Top 5 of the division is mostly spoken for in terms of matchmaking and few options exist outside of Till, so “Tarzan” may not have much choice.