Darren Till bemoans lack of 'spark' in current UFC product: 'It seems s*** at the moment'
Three years have passed Darren Till last fought in the Octagon, when he lost a hard-fought battle to current middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC 282. Although Till has moved on to professional boxing with the U.K.-based Misfits promotion, the one-time UFC title challenger has still kept an eye on the product he once called home.
Speaking on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" ahead of his Friday bout at Misfits Boxing 21, Till shared what he believes has become a star problem within the UFC over the past few years.
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"I get messages every day from people like, 'When are you coming back? We need a superstar,'" Till said. "Now granted, look, I'm from Liverpool, and there's a guy flying the flag for Liverpool right now, Paddy [Pimblett], there's still superstars in the UFC, but it does feel like it's dampened a little bit. Fights aren't getting made. I don't know, it just all seems a little fake and stuff like that as well.
"It seems s*** at the moment. It seems like when I was in the welterweight division, it seemed like it was just killers' row. Now the welterweight division just seems s***. I'm sorry to say the welterweight division is on its ass. The lightweight division I feel like is on its ass. The featherweight division, on its ass. The middleweight division, probably the best one for me at the moment. Light heavyweight, on its ass. Heavyweight, on its ass. It's just on its ass. But I do love the UFC. I love Dana [White], what they do. But right now it just seems like it's on its ass a bit. I just want a bit of spark.
"I feel like there's a few things missing," Till concluded.
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Till, 32, closed the door on MMA for his own foreseeable future, but remains adamant that his interest could reignite at some point. As of now, the financial boon that boxing brings is too much for him to pass up, and he's enjoying the progress made in his game. Meanwhile, in the UFC, old foe du Plessis is set to make his next defense of the UFC middleweight title against Till's friend and occasional teammate: Feared, undefeated super-contender Khamzat Chimaev.
News broke about the middleweight title tilt Tuesday when UFC CEO Dana White announced the pairing as the headliner for UFC 319 in August.
Even though their paths have gone in entirely different directions since their 2022 fight, Till still finds himself annoyed by du Plessis. Come fight night for UFC 319, Till expects the world will hear "And new."
"Tell Dricus I said 'f*** him,' by the way. I can't stand his guts because he's so s***, he's so good," Till said.
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"With respect, I'm never going to look past Dricus. He trains hard, he's super dedicated, he's super strong. He's got that awkward style that doesn't make any sense. I think Khamzat will beat him inside two rounds. I really do believe that. But look, Khamzat knows it's a tough fight, but Khamzat trains like a beast. I do think Khamzat gets it done in two rounds."
Regarding his own career, Till is back in action Friday in Derby, England. Taking on fellow UFC alum Darren Stewart, Till will compete in his second pro boxing match after a January win over Anthony Taylor. The match represents Stewart's boxing debut after the pair's original March fight date was canceled.
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Between Stewart's inexperience and lack of success in his MMA run compared to Till, the Liverpudlian finds himself a heavy favorite for the match. Despite that, Till has learned from past experiences that underestimating an opponent is arguably the worst thing a fighter can do.
"I think if you're ever going into mortal combat, you should never, ever, ever underestimate your opponent," Till said. "I did that one time in my life, and it was the first ever time I got knocked out for it.
"That was one camp I don't think I took it seriously because Jorge [Masdvidal] had just come out of some celebrity reality show [before UFC London in 2019]. I'm not making excuses, he f***ing knocked me clean out and it was phenomenal, the way he done it. But yeah, I don't think we should ever, as men, underestimate anyone else. So Darren fought in the UFC, he's a tough guy. I've got to be on my A-game to finish him on Saturday in eight rounds. ... He's strong and he's durable. I don't think he's as good of a striker as me. I was one of the best strikers in the UFC at one point. I really was."
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