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At UFC 228, Darren Till seemed to be moments away from MMA superstardom. He was undefeated, had the support of an entire nation and was set to face Tyron Woodley for the UFC welterweight championship. He was who the UFC hoped would win the bout, and given the raucous reaction he generated during his walkout, it was easy to see why.
Unfortunately, 'The Gorilla' crumbled when the lights were brightest. He was knocked off his feet by a counter-overhand right from Woodley en route to being submitted with a brabo choke for which 'The Chosen One' earned his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. What was set up to be Darren Till's coronation became yet another chapter in Woodley's storied career in the welterweight division.
Meanwhile, Till has struggled with consistency since the fight, going 1-3 in the next four bouts following his loss to Woodley. While many hoped 'The Gorilla' would fulfill his potential and become the star and champion he seemed destined to be, he's struggled to earn back that faith.
This list examines five reasons why he may never reach the heights he was once pegged to.
#5. Darren Till's striking is limited
Darren Till is powerful. Even in the middleweight division, where he is fairly outsized, 'The Gorilla' possesses decent punching power. Indeed, his punching power was enough to earn Derek Brunson's respect and convince the American to pursue a wrestling-heavy gameplan instead of engaging Till in a kickboxing exchange.
Furthermore, Darren Till is shockingly fast. Jorge Masvidal accurately described the Brit as being much quicker than he expected when the pair locked horns at UFC Fight Night 147. This was facilitated by Till's southpaw stance, which allows him to easily keep his lead foot on the outside of his foe's own if they're fighting from orthodox.
Due to these differences in stance, Darren Till often aligns his opponent's chin with his left power-side with supernatural ease, setting up his straight left to great effect. However, 'The Gorilla' does not possess much else other than his straight left. He has a decent pocket of feints, a jab, some low kicks and strong clinch work.
He does play with angles to set up the occasional high kick and uses his distance management to create openings for intercepting elbows against foes who try closing the distance against him. However, he remains a low-volume pressure fighter who enjoys fighting from long range in a division where he is smaller and shorter than most of his foes.
He is not long enough at middleweight to benefit from his chosen style and does not throw at a high enough volume to outpoint his foes.
#4. His clinch work is negated at middleweight
Due to his Muay Thai base, Darren Till possesses fairly intelligent clinch work. While he does not always use it to create openings for elbows and knees like a traditional Thai kickboxer, he does use it to bully his foes and neutralize their offense, or at least he used to at welterweight.
In the middleweight division, 'The Gorilla' has not implemented his clinch work as effectively as he used to back in the 170lbs weight class. Other than his bout with Kelvin Gastelum which saw Till level change and duck into a clinch by slipping his grasp on the inside of Gastelum's arms, he's not been able to do so against many of his other foes at middleweight.
Much of Till's clinching style relies on leverage from his height and length as well as overall strength. This worked at welterweight as he was an enormous member of the weight class prior to his ascension to the middleweight division. At middleweight, however, he is no taller or stronger than anyone else.
#3. His counter-wrestling is antiquated
One of the struggles many fighters encountered when facing elite-level grappling opponents like Khabib Nurmagomedov was disengaging from wrestling and grappling exchanges. Darren Till's counter-wrestling lacks a distinct way of disengaging from an opponent's intent to wrestle him.
Yet, it was not Nurmagomedov who Till faced, it was another wrestler who, while skilled, was not as skilled as the undefeated Russian.
Darren Till faced Derek Brunson and found himself repeatedly unable to counter his foe's wrestling. 'The Gorilla' relies on his distance management to keep his hips out of reach of a takedown. When his foes enter range, he typically digs for underhooks to draw his opponents into the clinch.
Unfortunately, this method of counter-wrestling is not as effective as it once was. Till only stops takedowns but does not actively disengage from wrestling exchanges, which allows his opponents to initiate chain-wrestling sequences, which Derek Brunson did to great effect.
While the middleweight division is devoid of many strong wrestlers, Till will struggle against the likes of Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori. If he cannot get past them, he has no path to the title given his current losing streak, least of all given how many high-level wrestlers are present at welterweight if he ever returns to the weight class in search of greener pastures.
#2. A welterweight return isn't the answer
Darren Till is at a crossroads in his career. At one point in time, he was a welterweight contender with a serious size advantage over the rest of the division. In the middleweight division, however, he does not possess many of the physical advantages that rendered him so effective in the 170lbs weight class.
Thus, a return to the welterweight division might seem like a tantalizing option for 'The Gorilla'. Unfortunately, such a return would be ill-advised. Given Darren Till's antiquated counter-wrestling, which the previous entry detailed, he will struggle against the much higher-level wrestlers at welterweight.
Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Khamzat Chimaev, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Sean Brady and Belal Muhammad are all crowding the top rankings. Worse still, the current crop of welterweights consists of larger and stronger fighters than the ones Darren Till faced during his run through the division.
In fact, out of all the welterweights Till has defeated in the UFC, only Stephen Thompson remains ranked in the top 10.
#1. His injuries
Over the last two years, Darren Till has fought exactly twice. Prior to facing Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night 191, 'The Gorilla' withdrew from two scheduled bouts due to injury. Initially, he was scheduled to face Jack Hermansson at UFC on ESPN 19 before withdrawing from the matchup due to an undisclosed injury.
Afterwards, he was booked to meet Marvin Vettori at UFC on ABC 2 but again withdrew from the bout due to another injury, this time a broken collarbone. When he stepped inside the octagon to face Derek Brunson, 'The Gorilla' was not in optimal physical condition, carrying more fat than UFC fans were accustomed to seeing from him.
He lost the bout via rear-naked choke. A year later, Till was scheduled to lock horns with Jack Hermansson in the UFC's second attempt at booking the matchup. As he did before, Till withdrew from the bout due to an undisclosed injury, continuing his injury struggles.
Not only are they keeping him relatively inactive, which is allowing the division to pass him by in terms of skill, but the longer he goes without a fight, the more his timing will deteriorate and the more sharpening his skill-set will need.
Lastly, sustaining injuries this frequently can't be good for his long-term health. It is also keeping him out of the gym longer, preventing him from training and improving while everyone else does so.
