Darren Till has said that he has had offers from other MMA promotions, but turned them down out of respect for the UFC. He mutually agreed to leave the UFC back in March, following a string of poor results and frustrating injuries. He left on 1st March, just less than three months after his last loss in the UFC to Dricuss Du Plessis.
‘The Gorilla’ took to Twitter, after leaving the MMA promotion, and said: “What’s happening everyone. Me, Dana (White) & Hunter (Campbell) are still cool as fuck.
“I asked UFC 2 remove me just 2 sort some other shit for the foreseeable. They happily agreed to release me out of contract which I appreciate.
“I’m not going anywhere, got big plans to execute & I’ll be back.”
Some of Till’s recent fights haven’t shown his full potential. Back in 2018, the scouser fought Tyron Woodley for the UFC welterweight title. Some would argue that this chance came a bit early for him, but he was still a very exciting prospect.
The losses against Du Plessis and Robert Whittaker displayed that Till wasn’t in the best place, as a fighter, and thus he’s taken time away from the sport. But he still holds some personal commitment to the UFC.
Darren Till on Not Wanting to Join Other MMA Promotions
The 30-year-old requested some time away from the UFC, and the sport, back in March. Being such a high-profile name, he’s had some offers to get back in a cage. Till, though, feels a bit of a responsibility and loyalty towards the UFC to not just jump ship straight away.
Speaking on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Till said: “I sort of made a little promise, but not promise.
“I said ‘I don’t want to go off straight away and do MMA. My heads a little battered and I just sort of want to be released and see what me options are.’
“That was eight months ago. I’ve had some crazy offers since I left, by big MMA organizations, and I turned them all down. I’ve been in talks with some of them, but again, I wouldn’t go down that disrespectful route of starting straightaway with the PFL.”
Till feels like he’s handled the situation in the right way, “What’s the point of saying to Hunter, ‘I need some time off to relieve the pressure,’ and then go sign with the PFL or Bellator or ONE or something like that? It just makes no sense,” added The Gorilla.
What’s Next for Till?
For those of you who kept up to date with all the goings on that surrounded the KSI v Tommy Fury fight, you’ll have probably seen and heard all of the back and forth that went on between Till and former UFC fighter Mike Perry.
He said, in the same MMA Hour interview, that he wants to fight before the end of the year, but that he has Perry in his sights for 2024.
“I want to make a big thing of it,” said the former UFC welterweight and middleweight. “Let’s see who can grab that up. More than likely, Misfits will want to make that fight, but that fight can be made anywhere, anyhow.
“It will sell no matter what. I think it will be massive here in the U.K.”
Quotes taken from @darrentill2 on X (formerly known as Twitter) and the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani
What do you want to see Till do next? Let us know in the comments below.
