Darren Till is not about to give up on his prophecy of holding UFC championship gold, no matter how many setbacks stand in the way of it.
At UFC Vegas 36, Darren Till lost for the fourth time in five fights when Derek Brunson defeated him via third-round rear-naked choke. At middleweight, he is 1-2, with a unanimous decision loss, tonight’s submission loss, and the one victory was a split-decision win over Kelvin Gastelum. All in all, things aren’t looking good for Darren Till’s world-title aspirations on paper.
However, you can’t read a man’s heart or will on paper. Paper had already written off other future world champions like Michael Bisping and Charles Oliveira, men who climbed the top of their divisional ladders after being widely considered to be gatekeepers or simply not title worthy. So after Darren Till’s latest hardship, he seemed to draw from the inspirational well that sprung gold onto the careers of Bisping and Oliveira, with no words being necessary.
Immediately after his loss to Brunson, Till posted photos on Instagram of Bisping and Oliveira both with their championship belts. When Oliveira learned about this post, he offered to directly help Till down the championship path.
“Keep you head up, never give up! God knows everything. Return home, get back to the gym – train and dedicated yourself. Hey @darrentill2 we’re here my ma’, if you need our support, lets train together,” Oliveira wrote with words of encouragement.
Darren Till remains unquestionably one of the biggest names in whichever division he chooses to compete in, with a very loyal following, especially in England. That star power, his determination, and the fact that he is still only 28 all perhaps make it a bit premature to write him off just yet.
What do you think? Should Darren Till be written off as a potential championship-caliber fighter?