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What's the story?
When Darren Till appeared on the forefront of the UFC, it was after he had knocked out Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone. He was considered to be one of the biggest prospects in the company and even got a title shot, one that did not work out.
Till has been on the decline recently with two back-to-back losses. On top of that, there has been an issue with his personal life as well. Now, according to Till's coach Colin Heron, the fighter is finally about to make his way back to the top and is working on himself.
Heron talked about it in an interview with Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
In case you didn't know...
Darren Till knocked out 'Cowboy' Cerrone and became the Golden Boy of UFC at 24 years of age, a prospect then, fighting out of Liverpool. Heron admitted that from that moment he knew that the next few years would mean non-stop work for his fighter. He admitted that the fight was coming a bit too soon.
Recently, Darren Till faced Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight Championship, but he was submitted by Woodley. This was the first loss in his career. As if that was not bad enough, he then lost the fight where he was hoping to bounce back, against Jorge Masvidal, where he was knocked out.
Since then, his personal life spiralled as well, with him trashing a hotel and stealing a taxi in London.
The heart of the matter
Colin Heron said that the rough patch following his loss to Masvidal was brought to the forefront by the incident with the taxi.
"The taxi thing brought some other issues to the forefront, and we had to address it. We took him out of the swing for a bit. I didn't want a damaged fighter on my hands, and we were close to that, coming off two defeats."
He went on to say that he did not necessarily agree with Dana White's version that Till had been pushed too soon. However, he said that Till has started working with a mental health coach and is taking steps with working on himself.
"I'm pretty happy with where he's at mentally, now. The losses made him ask those serious questions, but he was able to answer them. 'I am the best. This was a glitch, a hiccup. My end game remains the same, but for now, this is the path I'm on. Now, let's get back to it.'"
As for working on moving up a weight class, Heron admitted that it was tough for Till to cut weight, but there were other worries if he moved up a weight class.
"Here's the problem with Darren Till, and it's no secret: He eats s---. As disciplined as he is in the gym, between fights, he will eat the most amount of s--- you've ever seen in your life. ... The fact of the matter is he will probably be a middleweight, but whether it's now or later, I don't know. 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."
Credit to ESPN for the transcriptions.
What's next?
Darren Till is working at getting back on a path where he can fight again. Given that he is moving more slowly, his return might have more impact when he finally does fight in the Octagon again.
