Darren Till bemoans lack of 'spark' in current UFC product: 'It seems s*** at the moment'
Speaking on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" ahead of his Friday bout at Misfits Boxing 21, Till shared what he believes has become a star problem within the UFC over the past few years.
Advertisement
"I get messages every day from people like, 'When are you coming back? We need a superstar,'" Till said. "Now granted, look, I'm from Liverpool, and there's a guy flying the flag for Liverpool right now, Paddy [Pimblett], there's still superstars in the UFC, but it does feel like it's dampened a little bit. Fights aren't getting made. I don't know, it just all seems a little fake and stuff like that as well.
"It seems s*** at the moment. It seems like when I was in the welterweight division, it seemed like it was just killers' row. Now the welterweight division just seems s***. I'm sorry to say the welterweight division is on its ass. The lightweight division I feel like is on its ass. The featherweight division, on its ass. The middleweight division, probably the best one for me at the moment. Light heavyweight, on its ass. Heavyweight, on its ass. It's just on its ass. But I do love the UFC. I love Dana [White], what they do. But right now it just seems like it's on its ass a bit. I just want a bit of spark.
"I feel like there's a few things missing," Till concluded.
Advertisement
Till, 32, closed the door on MMA for his own foreseeable future, but remains adamant that his interest could reignite at some point. As of now, the financial boon that boxing brings is too much for him to pass up, and he's enjoying the progress made in his game. Meanwhile, in the UFC, old foe du Plessis is set to make his next defense of the UFC middleweight title against Till's friend and occasional teammate: Feared, undefeated super-contender Khamzat Chimaev.
News broke about the middleweight title tilt Tuesday when UFC CEO Dana White announced the pairing as the headliner for UFC 319 in August.
Even though their paths have gone in entirely different directions since their 2022 fight, Till still finds himself annoyed by du Plessis. Come fight night for UFC 319, Till expects the world will hear "And new."
"Tell Dricus I said 'f*** him,' by the way. I can't stand his guts because he's so s***, he's so good," Till said.
Advertisement
"With respect, I'm never going to look past Dricus. He trains hard, he's super dedicated, he's super strong. He's got that awkward style that doesn't make any sense. I think Khamzat will beat him inside two rounds. I really do believe that. But look, Khamzat knows it's a tough fight, but Khamzat trains like a beast. I do think Khamzat gets it done in two rounds."
Regarding his own career, Till is back in action Friday in Derby, England. Taking on fellow UFC alum Darren Stewart, Till will compete in his second pro boxing match after a January win over Anthony Taylor. The match represents Stewart's boxing debut after the pair's original March fight date was canceled.
Advertisement
Between Stewart's inexperience and lack of success in his MMA run compared to Till, the Liverpudlian finds himself a heavy favorite for the match. Despite that, Till has learned from past experiences that underestimating an opponent is arguably the worst thing a fighter can do.
"I think if you're ever going into mortal combat, you should never, ever, ever underestimate your opponent," Till said. "I did that one time in my life, and it was the first ever time I got knocked out for it.
"That was one camp I don't think I took it seriously because Jorge [Masdvidal] had just come out of some celebrity reality show [before UFC London in 2019]. I'm not making excuses, he f***ing knocked me clean out and it was phenomenal, the way he done it. But yeah, I don't think we should ever, as men, underestimate anyone else. So Darren fought in the UFC, he's a tough guy. I've got to be on my A-game to finish him on Saturday in eight rounds. ... He's strong and he's durable. I don't think he's as good of a striker as me. I was one of the best strikers in the UFC at one point. I really was."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month for July: No snub for a UFC 318 banger
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from July 2025: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month award for July. At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice. Nominee: Morgan Charriere def. Nate Landwehr at UFC on ESPN 70 Morgan Charriere spoiled Nate Landwehr's homecoming with a big knockout of Nate Landwehr in their featherweight bout. Charriere (21-11-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) stunned the Nashville crowd with a finishing barrage of the hometown fighter Landwehr (18-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC). When the third round, it didn't take long for him to unload a barrage of strikes that led to the finish. Nominee: Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen at PFL Africa If he does nothing else, Costello van Steenis will always be remembered for his insane comeback against Johnny Eblen to claim the PFL middleweight title. Not only did he claim the belt, van Steenis (17-3) did so in improbable fashion when he rallied and submitted Eblen (16-1) with nine seconds left in their five-round bout. The stoppage came at 4:51 of Round 5 for arguably the most stunning result in PFL history. Nominee: Max Holloway def. Dustin Poirier at UFC 318 Max Holloway finally got his get-back against Dustin Poirier when he emerged victorious from their trilogy bout and sent "The Diamond" into retirement on an L. After losing to Poirier (30-10 MMA, 22-9 UFC) by submission in 2012 and decision in 2019, Holloway (27-8 MMA, 23-8 UFC) made the most of his last chance in New Orleans when he scored a unanimous decision win to successfully defend the BMF title and split the retirement moment of Poirier. Nominee: Steven Nguyen def. Mohammad Yahya at UFC on ABC 9 Steven Nguyen made history – at the expense of Mohammad Yahya's face – in their featherweight bout Nguyen (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) dropped Yahya (12-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) a record-breaking six times. The fight was stopped between Round 2 and Round 3 due to Yahya's grotesquely swollen eye. The winner: Daniel Rodriguez def. Kevin Holland at UFC 318 It was a fight UFC matchmakers had tried to make multiple times prior and when it finally came to fruition, it proved worth the wait. Daniel Rodriguez and Kevin Holland came to blows at UFC 318 and fans were treated to an all-time-wild brawl. When the dust settled, Rodriguez (20-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) was named winner by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). As the fight progressed, the craziness increased. Rodriguez had a strong first round, but peaked in Round 2 when he froze and dropped Holland (28-14 MMA, 15-11 UFC) with a combination. Holland somehow survived and scored a beautifully-timed takedown midway through the round. In Round 3, Holland stunned Rodriguez multiple times. Uppercuts were his biggest weapons, which totally flashed Rodriguez twice. Although the referee he was close to intervening, he did not. Rodriguez was allowed to fight on and for good reason. He scored a takedown on Holland and entered mount. Rodriguez, 38, has won three fights in a row. He entered UFC 318 off back-to-back wins over Alex Morono and Santiago Ponzinibbio. Cast Your Vote! This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Fight of the Month for July 2025: No snub for a UFC 318 banger
USA Today
6 hours ago
- USA Today
MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month for July: No snub for a UFC 318 banger
With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best fights from July 2025: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie's Fight of the Month award for July. At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice. Nominee: Morgan Charriere def. Nate Landwehr at UFC on ESPN 70 Morgan Charriere spoiled Nate Landwehr's homecoming with a big knockout of Nate Landwehr in their featherweight bout. Charriere (21-11-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) stunned the Nashville crowd with a finishing barrage of the hometown fighter Landwehr (18-7 MMA, 5-5 UFC). When the third round, it didn't take long for him to unload a barrage of strikes that led to the finish. Nominee: Costello van Steenis def. Johnny Eblen at PFL Africa If he does nothing else, Costello van Steenis will always be remembered for his insane comeback against Johnny Eblen to claim the PFL middleweight title. Not only did he claim the belt, van Steenis (17-3) did so in improbable fashion when he rallied and submitted Eblen (16-1) with nine seconds left in their five-round bout. The stoppage came at 4:51 of Round 5 for arguably the most stunning result in PFL history. Nominee: Max Holloway def. Dustin Poirier at UFC 318 Max Holloway finally got his get-back against Dustin Poirier when he emerged victorious from their trilogy bout and sent "The Diamond" into retirement on an L. After losing to Poirier (30-10 MMA, 22-9 UFC) by submission in 2012 and decision in 2019, Holloway (27-8 MMA, 23-8 UFC) made the most of his last chance in New Orleans when he scored a unanimous decision win to successfully defend the BMF title and split the retirement moment of Poirier. Nominee: Steven Nguyen def. Mohammad Yahya at UFC on ABC 9 Steven Nguyen made history – at the expense of Mohammad Yahya's face – in their featherweight bout Nguyen (10-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) dropped Yahya (12-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) a record-breaking six times. The fight was stopped between Round 2 and Round 3 due to Yahya's grotesquely swollen eye. The winner: Daniel Rodriguez def. Kevin Holland at UFC 318 It was a fight UFC matchmakers had tried to make multiple times prior and when it finally came to fruition, it proved worth the wait. Daniel Rodriguez and Kevin Holland came to blows at UFC 318 and fans were treated to an all-time-wild brawl. When the dust settled, Rodriguez (20-5 MMA, 10-4 UFC) was named winner by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). As the fight progressed, the craziness increased. Rodriguez had a strong first round, but peaked in Round 2 when he froze and dropped Holland (28-14 MMA, 15-11 UFC) with a combination. Holland somehow survived and scored a beautifully-timed takedown midway through the round. In Round 3, Holland stunned Rodriguez multiple times. Uppercuts were his biggest weapons, which totally flashed Rodriguez twice. Although the referee he was close to intervening, he did not. Rodriguez was allowed to fight on and for good reason. He scored a takedown on Holland and entered mount. Rodriguez, 38, has won three fights in a row. He entered UFC 318 off back-to-back wins over Alex Morono and Santiago Ponzinibbio. Cast Your Vote!
Forbes
6 hours ago
- Forbes
UFC Announces First Six Fights For Perth Card Including Main Event
The UFC heads back to Perth, Australia, on Saturday, September 27, for a fight card headlined by an important light heavyweight affair. In that contest, the surging Carlos Ulberg faces the reinvigorated Dominick Reyes in a matchup that will have repercussions at the top of the UFC's 205-pound weight class. The UFC recently officially announced the first six bouts for the UFC Perth fight card. UFC Perth Fight Card: Official Matchups Carlos Ulberg vs. Dominick Reyes - Light heavyweight Michelle Montague vs. Luana Carolina - Women's bantamweight Loma Lookboonmee vs. Alexia Thainara - Strawweight Colby Thicknesse vs. Josias Musasa - Bantamweight Choi Doo-ho vs. Daniel Santos - Featherweight Navajo Stirling vs. Rodolfo Bellato - Light heavyweight UFC Perth Main Event: Carlos Ulberg Vs. Dominick Reyes Carlos Ulberg (12-1) made his UFC debut in March 2021 after winning a contract on a Dana White's Contender Series card. Ulberg's knockout win on the DWCS moved his record to 5-0. At the time Ulberg was known mostly as a member of the City Kickboxing team out of Auckland, New Zealand. Ulberg earned a 'Fight of the Night' bonus for his effort in his first official UFC contest, but he did not get a victory. Instead, Kennedy Nzechukwu knocked him out in the second round of that contest. Ulberg bounced back from his first career defeat to pick up a decision win over Fabio Cherant. He followed that with victories over Nicolae Negumereanu, Ihor Potieria, and Jung Da-un. In May 2024, Ulberg got his first name opponent, when he went up against Alonzo Menifield. He dispatched Menifield in 12 seconds. The UFC then booked Ulberg against former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. Ulberg bested him by decision over three rounds. In his most recent outing, Ulberg faced a former UFC 205-pound champion in Jan Blachowicz. Ulberg won that three-rounder via decision. Ulberg heads into UFC Perth as the No. 3 contender in the official UFC light heavyweight rankings. Dominick Reyes (15-4) joined the UFC in 2017. He had a 6-0 record at the time. Reyes made a statement in his promotional debut, knocking out Joachim Christensen in 29 seconds to claim a 'Performance of the Night' bonus. Reyes followed that victory with five straight wins, the last of which was a knockout of former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. The first-round finish earned Reyes his second 'Performance of the Night' bonus. More importantly, the victory set him up for a 2020 matchup with then-UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Reyes pushed Jones for five rounds at UFC 247, but his effort was not rewarded by the judges on that night in Houston, Texas, as Jones picked up a unanimous decision win. The fight was close. Close enough that UFC CEO Dana White said he has the fight scored three rounds for Reyes and one for Jones going into the last round. Reyes has struggled after that loss with consecutive knockout setbacks to Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Ryan Spann. In June 2024, Reyes righted the ship with a first-round knockout win over Dustin Jacoby. Proving that win was not a fluke, Reyes knocked out former title challenger Anthony Smith at UFC 310. Reyes followed those two KO victories with a third straight stoppage by strikes, finishing Nikita Krylov at UFC 314. Reyes's current run has earned him the No. 8 ranking in the UFC light heavyweight division. UFC Perth Fight Card Date: Saturday, September 27, 2025 Noche Perth Fight Card Location: RAC Arena in Perth, Australia We will have more on the upcoming UFC Perth fight card as the UFC Fight Night event approaches, including previews, odds, and predictions.
