UFC: Darren Till Wants To Avoid Wars And Slugfests
Darren Till and Robert Whittaker engaged in a thrilling cerebral chess match this past weekend at UFC Fight Island 3. Although knocked down once in the fight, the 27 year-old Englishmen stayed true to his word prior to the main event about wanting to avoid a war.
Avoid Wars And Slugfests
Speaking to MMA Fighting ahead of UFC Fight Island 3, Till said that he has seen signs of slurring in some of fellow fighters, who have been known to be in wars inside the Octagon.
“One big thing I’ve always known throughout my career, the wars take the toll on you, and whoever you are, you can see them taking the toll,
“No disrespect, but when you look at guys like Justin Gaethje and I look at Max Holloway now, and sometimes I seen glimpses of them slurring a little bit cause of the wars they’ve been in. All respect to the wars, but it ain’t a smart choice when you’re fighting.”
Instead of engaging in slugfests, Till prefers to have a more of defensive and tactical approach. He was able to prove as much in his fight against Whittaker, which was filled with a variety of feints, setting traps, and counter striking. His hope is that this style of fighting will allow him to have a successful career and have his health still intact at the end of it.
“You want to sort of look in the direction of someone like Floyd Mayweather,” Till referenced. “Someone like that. He’s 40-plus [years old], whatever he is now, and he’s got all his brain cells because he hardly got hit.
“So I think them wars, they take the toll on you, and they do take the toll on your chin. I think anyone I touch anyway at middleweight, I found myself I’m going to hurt with that left hand but we’ll see.”
Always Stick To The Game Plan
While finding a home in a new weight class, Till hopes to follow his own strategy and avoid making costly mistakes. Such as the one that got him knocked out by Jorge Masvidal in front of his home fans last year at UFC London.
“Always stick to the game plan,” Till said prior to his fight with Whittaker. “If only I had done it against Masvidal, I would probably be on the cover of EA Sports right now.
“You can’t fight every fight [with] perfection, and it’s not like that. The fight game is certainly not like that, especially in MMA. That’s why it doesn’t matter who you’re fighting, they could have a big belly, you can never underestimate or overlook any fighter. I sort of overlooked Masvidal a bit because he was a bit tinier. I beat Stephen Thompson and Stephen Thompson beat him comfortably. Maybe I did. Maybe on my part I did [underestimate him], but you live and you learn.”
Although Till would also lose his bout against Whittaker via unanimous decision, he still managed to prove he can compete with some of the best in the division.
Who do you think Darren Till should get matched up with next?
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