Darren Till is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, welterweight on the UFC roster. His size has helped him get past difficult veterans like Stephen Thompson and Donald Cerrone en route to his title shot opposite current welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 228 on Sept. 8 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from inside American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
While Woodley is a proven champion who has defeated the best of the best at 170 pounds, he’s quite smaller when matched up against Till. Just take a look at UFC 228’s official poster.
The difference in size between Till and Woodley is certainly apparent, but did it surprise Till when he faced off with “Chosen One” last month at UFC’s 25th anniversary press conference?
“A little bit,” said Till earlier this week during UFC 228’s media day in Las Vegas (h/t MMA Fighting).
“I think, as I’ve said a few times now, I just make myself look big; I puff my chest out, I put my arms up in the air,” he continued. “It was that stance that made me look bigger. I was, on that day, significantly bigger than Tyron.”
Despite his height and reach advantage over Woodley, Till still believes things will even out at UFC 228 because the champion is so darn muscular.
“I just think, with his top off, Tyron is a big guy. His chest is buff, he’s got big arms and huge legs. In the Octagon there will be a slight difference, but not massively because he is a big dude,” Till said.
While size often plays a role in the outcome of a fight, especially when a striker is matched up against a wrestler, Till is going to have to rely on technique and timing to get past Woodley next weekend in Dallas. Woodley has defeated a hodgepodge of contenders over the past few years and should find a way to adapt to the towering stature of “Gorilla.”
That said, Till’s length and power should rise to the occasion if he’s able to keep the fight standing and force Woodley to throw hands.
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