Morning Report: ‘F**king evil’ Darren Till looking past welterweight to the UFC light heavyweight title

Monday, February 26, 2018 - 16:00


The UFC’s welterweight division is currently one of the most exciting divisions in the sport, with a wealth of contenders like Rafael dos Anjos, Colby Covington, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Kamaru Usman all trying to work their way towards a title shot against the champion Tyron Woodley. But while that rat race is heating up, hot-shot young prospect and seventh-ranked contender Darren Till says he’s got bigger fish to fry.

Speaking with Jim Edwards of MMANytt over the weekend, Till addressed his recent absence from competition and how he views the current welterweight division, saying that he isn’t concerned about how his fellow 170-pound competitors are doing or the trash they are talking because he the welterweight division is easy game. Instead, Till said he is thinking about his eventual move up to the 205-pound division.

“I couldn’t give a s**t about the welterweight division. I could care less,” said Till.

“Listen, at the end of the day, the title is coming to me no matter what. It’s coming to me. I’m not worried about the welterweight title or the middleweight title. I’m worried about the light heavyweight title. I know I’m gonna get the welterweight title. That is my title and they all know it so I’m not really worried who I have to fight to get there.”

Till has not competed since knocking out Donald Cerrone at UFC Gdansk last October. There had been rumors that Till was offered to fight Gunnar Nelson at UFC London but Till says he was dealing with an illness and couldn’t properly train for a fight in that short of a time frame. But Till doesn’t want anyone thinking he was ducking a fight with Nelson, saying he’s not scared of anyone in the division and he wants to fight them all eventually.

“I’m not scared of anyone,” said Till. “I’m not scared of Gunnar’s grappling, I’m not scared of Usman’s wrestling, I’m not scared of Woodley’s power, and I’m not scared of Thompson’s karate. I don’t give a f**k about any of them. I’m not scared of any of them. They should be f**king scared of me because I’m a vicious little c**t, that’s what I am.

Till can certainly talk the talk but to work his way towards the title he believes is his, he’s going to have to knock off a few more contenders first and the Liverpudlian has a plan for how to do it. Till says he’ll be back to full strength soon and then he’s looking to get on a card in the next couple of months, possibly the UFC return to Dublin on May 27. Nelson’s coach John Kavanagh has proposed Till and Nelson headline that event, and while Till says he’s like to face Stephen Thompson next, he’d accept a fight with “Gunni.”

“In the next three weeks or so, I’ll be fit again and then after that I’ll be ready to fight,” Till explained. “So if they book me a fight in the next three weeks, I’ll be ready to go in six to seven, eight weeks. I’ll be ready.

“[UFC Dublin] sounds good. Then I’ll be fit and I’ll be able to get straight in the cage after the win. Win in May, win again, fight for the title.”

Lofty goals for the young welterweight but with designs on become a three division champion, it’s clear Till doesn’t lack confidence. He ended the interview with a message to all of the other fighters in the division and the fighters in the divisions he soon plans to conquer:

“I’m gonna f**king kill yous,” Till warned. “I’m gonna f**king kill yous. I’ve got bad intentions and I’m f**king evil. I want to beat them all so there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind. I’m the main guy and everyone knows I am and they know I am. I’m gonna destroy people. I am gonna destroy people.”

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Word on the street is Brock is legitimately returning to MMA after the summer. This will feed those rumors.

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Fighters really, really, really, should unionize if they don’t want to just keep being force-fed stuff from the UFC without any say in the process.

Yes please.

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Killing it.

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Beneil Dariush (14-3-1) vs. Alexander Hernandez (8-1); UFC 222, March 3.

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Edson Barboza (19-5) vs. Kevin Lee (16-3); UFC Atlantic City, April 21.

Amanda Nunes (15-4) vs. Raquel Pennington (9-5); UFC 224, May 12.

Jimmie Rivera (21-2) vs. Marlon Moraes (20-5-1); UFC Utica, June 1.

Sijara Eubanks (2-2) vs. Lauren Murphy (10-3); UFC Utica, June 1.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

The illegal knees rules are so dumb and need to change because a dope KO is being trampled upon by, at worst, some incidental knees. This is a super simple fix that would get rid of an overwhelming majority of any controversies:

1) All knees are legal. No one will die and, in fact, it will make several positions more interesting.

2) Targeting the back of the head is illegal. If you are smashing someone and he turns his skull, that guy made a bad choice. Unless the referee deems you were intentionally trying to murder a person in the cage, defending fighter needs to defend himself intelligently.

3) Standing headbutts are legal.

I’d also be in favor of bringing back soccer kicks but some people seem to have a huge issue with those so I’m picking my battles. I don’t see how anyone should have a real issue with any of the above rule suggestions though.

Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed the weekend and see y’all tomorrow.

EXIT POLL

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Source: 
https://www.mmafighting.com/2018/2/26/17052310/morning-report-f-king-evil-darren-till-looking-past-welterweight-to-the-ufc-light-heavyweight-title