Darren Till has been in the news as of late due to the comments he made regarding his girlfriend and daughter. But that hasn’t stopped the Brit from explaining his true feelings about welterweight champ Tyron Woodley.
Few fighters have experienced such a meteoric rise to the top of a division as the UK’s Till. ‘The Gorilla’ is riding high after a victory over two-time title challenger Stephen Thompson in Till’s backyard of Liverpool last May. The win, however, was not without criticism.
Although he fought well Till missed weight for his main event fight with Thompson due to personal issues with his pregnant girlfriend. In a post-fight interview, Till himself stated he didn’t think he did enough to deserve a title shot.
The UFC matchmakers thought otherwise.
“I went to Vegas to speak to the UFC and have dinner,” Till told ESPN. “I knew they were going to offer me a big fight and then I started to hear the rumors. The UFC called me and said, ‘Tyron [Woodley] has now accepted the fight, we’re just waiting for the contract back, but the fight is on.’”
Colby Covington defeated Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225 to capture the interim welterweight strap. It seemed a unification bout between Woodley and the interim champ Covington was a foregone conclusion. However, when Covington decided to take care of a sinus issue instead of fighting Woodley, it caused a bit of ‘chaos’ for matchmakers. Enter Till.
“I had to turn social media off,” Till said. “It was just crazy. Just to see the messages rolling through and people shouting, ‘Till beat Tyron,’ booking flights and booking hotels, that’s becoming the norm right now. I can’t wait to showcase all my years of hard work to the Americans and have all my fans with me, my family and people who’ve just been there for no other reason than to support Darren Till.”
Till is the latest in a long line of British mixed martial artists. Surprisingly enough though, only Michael Bisping has achieved the ultimate dream of UFC gold.
“I think it’s got nothing to do with skill set,” Till explained. “I think it just boils down to right place, right time and just being able to break them big fights. Maybe it wasn’t England’s time and right now I feel like it’s England’s time.”
“We’ve got so many good fighters at the moment and I’m one of them, I know I am. Bisping deserved to be the first champion from the U.K. He paid his dues. Now it’s me. I am going to be England’s second world champion. There’s no doubt about that whatsoever. Tell me any different.”
The Liverpool native holds Bisping in high regard. It isn’t just the incredible will of Bisping that has impressed Till all these years, its that he did it without any performance-enhancing drugs.
“I believe he had a lot of setbacks due to other people’s doings,” Till said. “Bisping is a clean athlete and it comes down to whether you’re clean or not. I’m totally against the use of drugs and ******** in the UFC and any performance enhancing drugs. Shows a lot about someone’s mental state if they have to do that. I don’t agree with it and Bisping never felt like he had to do it, so it’s only right he won the world title when he did.”
Both fighters have taken shots at each other on social media. Despite that, Till actually has a ton of respect for the champ. He just doesn’t think Woodley is going to win a popularity contest anytime soon.
“I think he is one of the best welterweights of all time,” Till said. “He’s the kingpin of the division. I don’t think he’s been the best champion, but he is a champion and he’s no pushover. He’s beaten everyone. He’s beaten top-level competition. He’s beaten better competition than I’ve beat. That doesn’t change the fact of what’s going to happen on the 8th of September.”
“I’m going to impose my will on Tyron Woodley, not the other way around. Tyron is a good fighter when he’s coming forward and bullying people. I think his biggest strength is his mind. He’s very intelligent and knows how to win fights but he just hasn’t faced a person like Darren Till. He’s faced many great guys but they’re all different from me and I just don’t believe Tyron can beat me.”
The waiting is nearly over. Can Darren Till become just the second British fighter to capture UFC gold? Or does Tyron Woodley continue to bolster his claim at the welterweight GOAT?
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