Darren Till Announces Move To Middleweight
Darren Till is finally moving up to middleweight.
The Englishman has received a lot of criticism for fighting at 170 pounds. Standing six-feet-tall and sporting a wide frame, Till holds a big size advantage over most of his opponents.
Till missed weight back in May when he fought Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Till weighed in at 174 pounds and went on to defeat Thompson via controversial split decision at MAy’s UFC Liverpool. The victory earned him a shot at the UFC welterweight title.
A Foregone Conclusion
Tyron Woodley handed Till the first loss of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career at UFC 228 early last month via second-round submission. Now, writing a blog post for Paddy Power, Till revealed he will be moving up to middleweight:
“I’m a big dude for welterweight to be honest, so that’s probably going to be my last fight at that weight. Welterweight isn’t fully gone for me, but I’m going to be happy going up to middleweight now and I’ll be strong at that weight not having to cut as much weight.
“It’s not that I can’t make the weight. I’m just a big lad so I just have to be on such a strict, regimented diet and being honest, I don’t like doing it. People might say ‘he’s not disciplined enough’, but because I have to cut so much weight I can only eat the bare minimum of food and that’s not how I want to be training.”
Till’s decision is definitely a step in the right direction. Given his size, it’s arguable that the Englishman could fight as high as 205 pounds.
After a video made the rounds on social media showing Till pushing through a brutal weight cut, many agreed the best move would be for him to jump up.
It will be interesting to see how he fares against the elite competition 185 pounds has to offer.
