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It has not been an easy task for Darren Till to ensure he gets to fight in Las Vegas for UFC 248, where he was scheduled to step in for Robert Whittaker in a Middleweight bout against Jared Cannonier.
First, he was held back by issues with his U.S. visa, and then his opponent had to pull out of the bout owing to injury. However, Till is not backing away and staying up and ready for any opportunity that might present itself.
Till willing to be a main-even backup
There was already a big question mark on whether Till would be able to land in the U.S.A. in time for his contest with Cannonier, as he explained on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show. His visa was taking longer than he expected because of a problem with his Electronic System for Travel Authorization application form, which was causing the delay.
But upon hearing the news of Cannonier's torn pectoral muscles, Till shifted his focus on the main event of UFC 248. He has been preparing by staying in the right weight ever since, to step in if something goes wrong with the headlining Middleweight title fight between Champion Israel Adesanya and Challenger Yoel Romero.
"I just want to fight March 7th. I'd just love to be the backup and just get out there and cut weight and just see what happens with that fight."
Although Till does not expect either of the fighters to miss weight, he believes anything can go unexpectedly when it comes to this. Either way, he would prefer to just be present as an audience, which so far does not seem like a possibility.
"I can't see Yoel missing weight. I can't see it, but you know how many people were so convinced I'd miss weight against Woodley, and they had Usman as a backup, you know what I mean. I'd just love to be there and see the fight live. I can't even go. I can't even be a spectator. That's what pissing me off so much."
If his visa issues get resolved and any one of the two headliners do miss their weight, Till could find himself in the close vicinity of a Championship fight after having fought at 185 pounds only once so far. However, only time will tell whether that many stars will align for Till before the event next month.
UFC 248 will take place on March 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
