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Former UFC welterweight title contender and current middleweight Darren Till came up short in his last fight against Robert Whittaker. In the main event of UFC Fight Night 174, which was the last event on UFC fight island in Abu Dhabi, Till(18-3 in MMA) lost a unanimous decision to the former middleweight king Whittaker. The fight itself was a very close contest and a display of tactical prowess of both men.
Darren Till is currently 1-1 in the UFC middleweight division. He earned a split decision over another former middleweight title contender Kelvin Gastelum in his middleweight debut.
Darren Till decided to move up a weight class after his brutal knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC London last year. The weight cut for welterweight was always a harsh one for Till. Many including the fighter himself believed the cut was taking a toll on his performance in a bad way. Back to back losses to then welterweight champ Tyron Woodley and the BMF champion and recent title challenger Jorge Masvidal forced Till to reconsider his weight class.
With a deteriorated chin and stamina at 170, and not to mention Till's huge physique the move to middleweight was touted to be perfect for the "pride of Liverpool".
Despite his recent loss to former champion "The Reaper", Till's stock is up. Top middleweight contenders and the champ himself Israel Adesanya are more than interested to stand across the octagon with "The Gorilla".
Recently while speaking to Ariel Helwani Till talked about his title aspirations.
"I don't think it's a matter of how long it takes. I don't know" said Till when asked about how long it would take for him to fight for the middleweight crown."No one could argue I was put on the sport to become a UFC champion." said the confident Englishman, "No one can convince me otherwise. When it happens it's gonna happen."
Till was touted as the next big thing and the champion before he fought then welterweight champ Tyron Woodley for the belt. Although 1-3 in his last 4 fights, his losses have come against two former world champions and the biggest star in the UFC at the moment in Masvidal.
And at just 27 Till's best days as a fighter is yet to come. Him fighting the likes of "The Last Stylebender" or Paulo Costa is in every fan's wishlist. But with Adesanya and Costa set to look horns at UFC 253 and Till having recently fought Whittaker, an opponent like Jared Cannonier or Jack Hermansson makes the most sense for till in a stacked middleweight division.
Who do you want to see Till fight next?
