Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till has recently been considering a jump to middleweight. “The Gorrilla” says he’d be “right in the mix” and feels there won’t be a size disadvantage against the current 185-pound fighters in the roster.
Till’s is known for his struggles to make the 170-pound limit, as seen during his harrowing weight cut for his fight against Stephen Thompson in May 2018. But for his head coach Colin Heron, it is more of a lifestyle issue.
”The obvious answer is, ‘He has a tough weight cut and needs to go up,’ correct?” Heron told ESPN in a recent interview. “What people don’t see is the lifestyle between fights. It’s hard for me to make correct decisions, until I see a fighter, especially Darren, walking around lean between fights.
”Here’s the problem with Darren Till, and it’s no secret: He eats sh-t. As disciplined as he is in the gym, between fights, he will eat the most amount of sh-t you’ve ever seen in your life.”
If Till does make the move to middleweight, Heron wants him to adapt a healthier lifestyle along with it.
“The fact of the matter is he will probably be a middleweight, but whether it’s now or later, I don’t know,” he said. “My only concern is he goes up to middle(weight), and that will give him the license to eat more. Then we end up with just as big of a cut, but with bigger consequences in the actual fight.
“So, I would like to get him lean and then make a decision.”
After going 17-0 professionally, Till is currently on a two-fight skid. His most recent loss came at the hands of Jorge Masvidal, who knocked him out inside two rounds in mid-March in London.