One of the biggest stories prior to this weekend’s (Sat., September 8, 2018) UFC 228 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, is whether or not Darren Till makes weight.
The top welterweight contender missed weight by a wide margin prior to his UFC Liverpool main event against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson this May. The miss became a well-documented cautionary tale for weight cutting in MMA. A video surfaced of Till’s harrowing and ultimately missed cut where he claimed to have lost his eyesight at one point.
Till is sick of talking about it and claims he’s not far off making weight at all. That sentiment was echoed by his nutritionist Eoghan Gallagher in an interview with MMA Fighting at the fighter hotel. Gallagher claimed he was “110 percent sure” Till would make weight as he expressed extreme optimism where his fighter was at:
“We’re super happy with where he’s at. We were working with a more limited time frame that expected. Darren had some visa issues getting into the U.S. We wanted to get out here to do four weeks, but we only got two-and-a-half basically. So under the circumstances we’re doing amazing. The last part of the cut is always going to suck. He said it himself earlier, fighters who say they’ve had a great cut, it’s a cover up.”
Gallagher then described his strategy of avoiding the last-minute drain to make weight that fighters often engage in. To him, that’s not the right way to do things. He believes in getting the hardest part of the cut done long before the final three days:
“This culture of guys a week out, two weeks out with the sauna suits on already, hitting pads and things like that…that makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck,” Gallagher said. “That’s something we want to move away from it. The larger part of our cuts are done within 72 hours, so that we have the body under strenuous conditions for the least amount of time possible. So, just minor changes were made this camp.”
Till’s nutritionist then detailed Till’s oft-discussed move up to middleweight. Gallagher believes all the talk is a bit overstated, but he does think Till should move up to middleweight sooner than later nonetheless. The reasoning for that perceived move wasn’t related to weight cutting, however.
In his mind, 185 pounds is a division that needs a new star – and the 25-year-old Liverpudlian would provide just that:
“The issues that I observed as an outsider, and just from speaking to his team and speaking to him personally, I think the ‘he should not fight at 170’ talks are extremely blown out of proportion,” Gallagher said. “I think that realistically he can make welterweight for years to come, but just from speaking to him — and this is a trend I hope continues in this sport — it seems like he wants to go to 185 sooner rather than later.
“Just for two reasons, the significantly less strain he’d have to put himself through. And — this isn’t his thought, but in my opinion — middleweight is in more need of a star than 170 is. Welterweight is super-exciting right now, while middleweight is one of the better divisions with a lot of the fighters in the later stages of their career. Darren is 25 years old. He’s someone who could be around for a significant amount of time.”
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