Darren Till Admits Jorge Masvidal Loss Hurt Confidence For ‘A While’

Darren Till has yet to return to the Octagon after his upset knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal earlier this year.

The Englishman is scheduled to face Kelvin Gastelum in his middleweight debut at UFC 244 in November. “The Gorilla’s” loss to Masvidal marked his second-ever and second-straight loss of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. Ahead of his return to the Octagon against Gastelum, Till spoke to BT Sport.

In regards to his fight against Masvidal, Till admitted that the knockout loss in front of his native crowd messed with his confidence for “a while.” (H/T BJPenn.com)

“It hurt a lot for a while. A lot of guys say, ‘I wasn’t bothered’, but it hurt. Just because, I just know what could have been after that fight,” Darren Till said. “It could have been title, back in there, and a lot of stuff. I even said to coach Colin [Heron], win or lose this fight [with Masvidal], I wanna be straight back in the gym to fight again. But it never quite went that way, I just sort of fell off the wagon.

“All my life, I’ve had this crazy confidence that I’m just this superhuman being inside that Octagon and in life and it got knocked a bit. I’m not ashamed to say that. I want to get that back. It’s there, I’m still that confident guy that if you put me in front of everyone, I know I can beat them. I know there’s something in me that can beat everyone. I’ve got that technique, I’ve got that will. It got lost a bit after the fight, so I just had to find it.”

Till’s fight at UFC 244 will be only his second in the United States under the UFC banner. Not only will it be just his second, but it will take place inside “The World’s Most Famous Arena” Madison Square Garden.

He’ll take on Kelvin Gastelum, who just had a two-fight win streak snapped by Israel Adesanya. The winner of Till vs. Gastelum could very well find themselves in title contention.

What do you think about Till admitting his confidence was hurt after the Masvidal KO?