The last time Darren Till fought, it involved a scary weight cut that pretty much put his health in serious danger. It was for his headliner fight against Stephen Thompson, which took place in his hometown of Liverpool, England last May.
“The Gorilla” ended up missing the mark by 3.5 pounds, but ended up winning the contest via unanimous decision. The 25-year-old fighter is now slated to challenge champion Tyron Woodley for the UFC welterweight title, but some of his fellow 170-pound fighters like Kamaru Usman are doubtful about him making weight.
“For Woodley, it’s not about making the weight, that’s not the issue,” Usman said in a recent appearance on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting). “He was a wrestler; it’s not about making the weight. If Woodley doesn’t fight it’s about something else. That’s the only reason Woodley is out.”
“With Darren Till, he’s shown that it’s a weight issue. He’s a big guy. It’s not his fault, he’s growing, he’s a human being — he’s a big guy. With Till, it could be a weight issue and it could be something else.”
“That’s how I think of those guys,” he added. “With Woodley, weight’s not going to be an issue, it’ll be something else. With Till it could be a number of things. I’m ready for either one of them. And I’m ready if nothing happens and I make weight. I did it in college every weekend for free.”
“The Nigerian Nightmare”, who never had any problems making weight because of his own collegiate wrestling experience, compares Till’s situation to that of retired light heavyweight fighter Anthony Johnson, who also fought at 170 pounds in the late 2000’s during his first UFC run.
“What it reminds me of is Anthony Johnson continuously trying to make 170 back in the day,” Usman said. “This was the same struggle and I bet it’s the same for him.”
Woodley and Till are set to headline UFC 228 on September 8th in Dallas, Texas.