Quote: ‘I Didn’t Even Know Who Darren Till Was’

There is one title contender who was unaware who rising UFC welterweight prospect Darren Till was.

That all changed once the Las Vegas-based promotion announced that he would be fighting Till. That title contender is Stephen Thompson.

Till will take on former title contender at the upcoming UFC Liverpool event. It’s already been confirmed that this bout will serve as the headliner.

Thompson was last seen in the Octagon at the UFC 217 pay-per-view event in New York City last November where he won via unanimous decision against Jorge Masvidal.

On the flip side, Till is coming off the biggest win of his pro-MMA career thus far by beating former title contender Donald Cerrone.

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Thompson opened up on this fight, and in the interview, he claimed that he didn’t even know who Till was.

“To be honest, I didn’t know who this guy was, when I was approached. ‘Who is this Darren Till?’” proclaimed Stephen during a recent edition of The MMA Hour (transcript courtesy of MMA Mania). “He got a name after knocking out (Donald) Cerrone, which I don’t, Cerrone was on a three-fight losing streak. He was knocked out by Jorge Masvidal, who I just beat,” he added.

“So I was like, ‘Who is this number seven guy? Why is he jumping over everybody else to fight the number one contender? Why am I not fighting the number two guy?’ When I was coming up in the rankings, I had to fight up to number one to get that title. That was another reason I turned down the Till fight right away was because I wanted to fight ‘RDA,’ and that’s not happening.”

“So there was nobody else to fight but this guy Darren Till. And it’s in his own backyard? So I was like, ‘Why am I fighting this guy who I don’t even know, in his own hometown?’” added Thompson. “But he keeps asking for it and he is definitely going to get the best ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson come May 27.”

UFC Liverpool is set to take place on May 27, 2018, at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.

The main card will air on FOX Sports 1 at while the preliminary card will be split broadcasted on FOX Sports 1 at and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.