Despite his recent failures, Darren Till is still aiming for the head of the middleweight division.
Missile has lost four of his last five and he comes after back-to-back losses to former middleweight UFC champion Robert Whitaker and re-enactor Derek Bronson at UFC Fight Night 191 in September.
Following his loss to Bronson, a native of Liverpool, England, he spent three months in Las Vegas, making the most of the UFC Performance Institute and also training in Syndicate MMA. But Till also had some conversations with the UFC brass when he was in Las Vegas, and discussed some names for his next fight.
Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) told Michael Bisping that he had expressed interest against Jared Canonia and was also offered a fight with Sean Strickland (24-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC).
“They were like, ‘Who do you want to fight?’ And I thought, ‘Jared Canon is a good one,’ “Till said “Believe me” podcast. “They were like, ‘Oh really? Jared already?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, of course.’ But there were some options they threw at me, and one fight I really liked was Sean Strickland. They offered him that too. “At some point, let’s do it because I think you’re a good fighter. I think it’s going to be a good fight.” So I’m still fighting at the top, and that’s how it is.
Till hopes he can top London’s UFC card in March and get his Cowboys teammates to compete with him that evening.
“I hope there is a good, solid card there,” Till said. “(I would like the) main event, obviously. We’ll bring in all our guys from Cowboy and all the other guys from Liverpool and from all over the UK and Europe, so I think it’s going to be a good ticket. That’s what it looks like, but it’s seen.”
Although Tilly did not admit it, Bisping discovered Tilly tore his ACL 10 weeks from his fight with Bronson. A missile was dropped three times by Bronson and eventually served in round 3. Although a missile is not one to shy away from criticism, he does not think Bronson’s loss paints an accurate picture of his wrestling skills.
“I think I have, right now in the middleweight division, the second defense at the drop height,” Till said. “I’m not in that perception of ‘Oh, now I have to work in wrestling.’ “Whitaker, everyone knew I had a torn MCL when he kicked me. He lowered me twice in the fifth round, and I went back upstairs. People don’t hold me. Derek did hold me – he helped him.”
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