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The countdown for the main event at UFC 228 has brought many fight fans to the edge of their seats with Welterweight contender Darren Till looking to outclass and dethrone reigning champion, Tyron Woodley. With the anticipation of the big fight lingering in the minds of fans, concerns in regards to Till making weight has also been persistent.
Darren Till holds a reputation for missing weight, just days, or even as much as a day before the fight. He has managed to do this on two separate occasions in the past. The first was during a preliminary bout against Jessin Ayari, at UFC Fight Night 109, where he missed weight by 5 pounds. The second was against Stephen Thompson, at the UFC Fight Night 130 weigh-ins, where he missed weight again, this time by 3.5 pounds.
Leading up to his championship bout against Tyron Woodley in the Welterweight division, Darren Till had a few things to say about moving up to the Middleweight category. This is, of course, assuming that he has the belt strapped around his waist, on September 8th, in the city of Dallas, Texas.
In a recent media event with MMA Fighting, this is what he had to say about his future endeavors:
“I just want to win this belt. I want to defend it; I just want to be able to say that I’ve defended it. You could be looking at two or three fights at welterweight and then that’s me done. I’m 25, I’m not putting my body through this for much longer. As I’m getting older, I’m starting to see that it’s a lot of weight to cut and I don’t need to do it. I started at welterweight, I’m going to finish at welterweight and my ultimate goal is to be welterweight champion. In two weeks, I could be making that a reality. After that, I want to defend and then after that, it’s probably me going to middleweight. That’s how I see my future playing out.”
If and when Darren Till decides to move to the 185-pound category, one thing is for certain. Talks about him having issues with making weight will disappear forever.
Till making weight has been an area of concern for both fans and the UFC in particular. For this very reason, current number 6th ranked Welterweight, Kamaru Usman, has been identified as the potential replacement for the main event of UFC 228.
Welterweight champion, Tyron Woodley, doesn't fancy this idea. During a pre-fight press conference with MMA Fighting, this is what the champ had to say:
“It’s Till or no fight at all. I’ll fight Usman on a full training camp. I’ll fight anybody on a full training camp. I’ll fight you on a full training camp, but I’m not a guy, this is not a circus to me.”
This is understandable from Woodley's perspective. Training for a different fighter, who possesses a fighting style that is very much in contrast to the formerly fixed fighter (Darren Till) is always going to be a challenge. With that being said, fight enthusiasts around the world will most definitely be tuning in for this championship slugfest, come September 8th.
American Airlines Center...
Dallas, Texas...
This is going to be fun!
