Darren Till acknowledges that his road to UFC gold will take longer than anticipated, but he won’t be discouraged.
Till rose to a welterweight title shot against Tyron Woodley in 2018, but after falling short, he’s been stuck in a rough patch. The 29-year-old now has lost four of his past five and is coming off back-to-back setbacks to former champion Robert Whittaker and most recently Derek Brunson.
Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) has been on UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya’s radar for a while now, but Till knows that fight won’t happen unless he can string together a few wins.
“Yeah, I feel like Adesanya’s a long way off,” Till told Submission Radio. “I feel like I just got to get a few wins under my belt and prove how good I am to the people again. Obviously, as soon as I get that title fight and win, I know I can beat Adesanya. The sky’s the limit then. The possibilities are endless.
“And I’ve just got to work hard and stay humble and do the right things and have a good supportive group around me, which I’ve got now, you know, especially with my newfound venture in Block Asset and these guys. These guys are going to great lengths to look after me in a special way, and it’s humbling for me. I’m a humble man, and it’s humbling when people really want to take care of your well being.”
Till has surrounded himself with unbeaten star Khamzat Chimaev and his team, spending time training at All Stars Gym Sweden. He’s been recently linked to a bout with Uriah Hall, who accused him of being scared.
“I don’t know. My options are open,” Till said of who’s next. “I just want the right fight for me. It’d be probably hard taking the Uriah Hall fight. I’m quite … I gotta … I’m scared of Uriah Hall (laughs). He’s a beast.”
He continued, “Uriah says I’m scared of him, so … I don’t know if he says that just for social media, but that’s what he says, so if that’s what he thinks, so that’s what I’ll say is correct. You know, there’s not more to say. I’ve obviously fought most of the guys who beat him, and I beat Gastelum who beat him and you know, but he thinks I’m scared of him? Makes no sense at all.”
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