Darren Till

Darren Till (born 24 December 1992) is an English professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai kickboxer. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is a former Welterweight Championship contender. As of 9 December 2020, he is #4 in the UFC middleweight rankings.[5]

Darren Till
Till in 2018
Born (1992-12-24) 24 December 1992
Liverpool , England[1]
Other namesThe Gorilla
NationalityEnglish
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
DivisionMiddleweight (2013–2014, 2019–present)
Welterweight (2014–2019)
Reach74 1⁄2 in (189 cm)[2]
Fighting out ofLiverpool, Merseyside, England
TeamAstra Fight Team (Brazil)[2]
Team Kaobon (England)[3]
MTK Global
RankPurple belt in Luta Livre Esportiva[4]
Years active2013–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total22
Wins18
By knockout10
By submission2
By decision6
Losses3
By knockout1
By submission1
By decision1
Draws1
Amateur record
Total3
Wins3
Other information
Children3
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

Till was born in Liverpool, England and began training in Muay Thai at the age of 12. After dropping out of school aged 14, he turned professional a year later and began training in MMA with Team Kaobon aged 17.[6] In August 2012, Till was stabbed twice in the back after confronting a large group of men at a party. The knife missed his main artery by a millimetre and doctors claimed he was lucky to be alive.[7] Following the incident, his coach Colin Heron advised Till to move to Brazil to train with a former Team Kaobon coach to avoid troubles in his hometown.[8]

He subsequently joined Astra Fight Team in Balneário Camboriú, despite being unable to speak the language and with minimal knowledge of grappling.[6] While Till planned to spend six months in South America, he stayed for three-and-a-half years and had a daughter with his girlfriend in Brazil.[7] In late 2016, Till returned to England to be reunited with Heron at Team Kaobon.[6] His daughter and then-girlfriend remained in Brazil, and in 2018, Till revealed he had not seen his daughter for over a year.[9]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Till spent most of his early MMA career in Brazil under the guidance of Astra Fight Team.[6] He went 3–0 as an amateur in England before making the move to South America, and turned professional in February 2013.[10] Till had 11 fights in Brazil and one in Argentina prior to joining the UFC, with just two going to a decision. In 2013, he fought eight times as a middleweight before competing at welterweight in late 2014.[10]

2015

Till faced Brazilian Wendell de Oliveira Marques in his UFC debut on nine days' notice at UFC Fight Night 67 on 30 May 2015. He knocked out Oliveira and secured his first UFC win.[11]

Till next faced Nicolas Dalby on 24 October 2015 at UFC Fight Night 76. After a back and forth fight, the bout was scored a majority draw.[12][13] Both participants were awarded the Fight of the Night bonus.[14]

2017

After a significant shoulder injury and various personal issues kept him out of action for an extended period of time, Till returned to face Jessin Ayari on 28 May 2017 at UFC Fight Night 109. He missed the non-title Welterweight limit of 171 pounds by 5 pounds, and had to give 20 percent of his fight earnings to his opponent. He explained that he had missed weight due to his long lay off from competition and that his body had not responded as well to the weight cutting process as it had in the past. Despite this difficult road to the fight, Till outpointed Ayari on the scorecards to win a unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–27).[15]

On 1 August 2017, Till announced that he had signed a new, five-fight deal with the UFC.[16]

Till faced Bojan Veličković on 2 September 2017 at UFC Fight Night 115.[17] Till extended his undefeated streak via unanimous decision.[18]

Till faced Donald Cerrone on 21 October 2017 at UFC Fight Night 118.[19] He won the fight via TKO in the first round.[20] This dominant win earned him the Performance of the Night bonus award.[21]

2018

Till faced former UFC Welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 130 on 27 May 2018. At the weigh-ins, Till weighed in at 174.5 pounds, 3.5 pounds over the Welterweight non-title fight limit of 171. After negotiating with Thompson's team, the bout proceeded at a catchweight with the stipulation that Till could not weigh more than 188 pounds on the day of the fight. Till also forfeited 30 percent of his purse to Thompson.[22] Till won the close fight via unanimous decision. He outstruck Thompson 38 to 30 in terms of significant strikes and scored the only knockdown of the fight in the fifth round.[23] Despite this however, 22 of 25 media outlets scored the bout in favor of Thompson.[24]

Till was given the opportunity to face Tyron Woodley on 8 September 2018 at UFC 228, challenging him for the UFC Welterweight championship.[25] He lost the fight via d'arce choke in the second round after being dropped by the champion.[26] This was Till's first loss in his MMA career.[27]

2019

Despite talks of a potential move up to Middleweight, Till stayed at Welterweight and faced Jorge Masvidal on 16 March 2019 at UFC Fight Night 147.[28] Till lost the fight by knockout in the second round.[29] Both participants were awarded a Fight of the Night bonus award.[30]

Move to Middleweight

On 26 August, it was announced Till will be returning to the middleweight division, facing Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244 on 2 November.[31] He won the fight via split decision.[32]

Till faced Robert Whittaker on 26 July 2020 at UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till.[33] He lost the fight via unanimous decision, though many admired Till's performance against a former title holder in Whittaker. [34]

Till was scheduled to face Jack Hermansson on 5 December 2020 at UFC on ESPN 19.[35] However, it was announced on 6 November that Till was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury. He was replaced by Kevin Holland, who was later replaced by Marvin Vettori.[36]


Till is scheduled to face Marvin Vettori on April 10, 2021 at UFC Fight Night 189[37]

Championships and achievements

Mixed martial arts

Controversies

Stabbing incident 2012 in England

Till was involved in a fight at a party in August 2012 and was stabbed twice in the back, after confronting a group of men.[41]

Canary Islands incident

On 21 April 2019, it was revealed that Till had been arrested in Tenerife, Canary Islands on 18 April after trashing a hotel room after he was asked to leave, and for also stealing a taxi cab while the driver was loading Till's luggage into the trunk.[42] Till and four other involved individuals were sentenced for a crime of damage and unauthorised use of a vehicle, and were fined approximately £10,000.[43]

Personal life

Till has three daughters.[44][45] He has a tattoo on his left arm of the mother of his child for a birthday gift. He also has a tattoo on the right side of his neck with the name of his sister Caitlin.[46]

Till was once involved in a stabbing incident that left him with two scars on his back. According to the 27-year-old Muay Thai stylist, he fought "multiple bouncers and patrons" at a club during a party in August 2012. Sensing that life in Liverpool, England, was detrimental to his development, Till's coach advised him to move to Brazil to continue his training. He wound up staying in the South American country for three and a half years despite initial plans for a six-month stay.[47]

He is fluent in Portuguese.[48] [49][50]

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
22 matches 18 wins 3 losses
By knockout 10 1
By submission 2 1
By decision 6 1
Draws 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 18–3–1 Robert Whittaker Decision (unanimous) UFC on ESPN: Whittaker vs. Till 26 July 2020 5 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Win 18–2–1 Kelvin Gastelum Decision (split) UFC 244 2 November 2019 3 5:00 New York City, New York, United States Return to Middleweight.
Loss 17–2–1 Jorge Masvidal KO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal 16 March 2019 2 3:05 London, England Fight of the Night.
Loss 17–1–1 Tyron Woodley Submission (D'Arce choke) UFC 228 8 September 2018 2 4:19 Dallas, Texas, United States For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
Win 17–0–1 Stephen Thompson Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till 27 May 2018 5 5:00 Liverpool, England Catchweight (174.5 lb) bout; Till missed weight.
Win 16–0–1 Donald Cerrone TKO (punches) UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Till 21 October 2017 1 4:20 Gdańsk, Poland Performance of the Night.
Win 15–0–1 Bojan Veličković Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Struve 2 September 2017 3 5:00 Rotterdam, Netherlands
Win 14–0–1 Jessin Ayari Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Teixeira 28 May 2017 3 5:00 Stockholm, Sweden Catchweight (176 lb) bout; Till missed weight.
Draw 13–0–1 Nicolas Dalby Draw (majority) UFC Fight Night: Holohan vs. Smolka 24 October 2015 3 5:00 Dublin, Ireland Fight of the Night.
Win 13–0 Wendell de Oliveira KO (elbows) UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves 30 May 2015 2 1:37 Goiânia, Brazil
Win 12–0 Laerte Costa e Silva TKO (punches) MMA Sanda Combat 9 May 2015 4 2:01 Apucarana, Brazil
Win 11–0 Guillermo Martinez Ayme Decision (unanimous) Arena Tour MMA 20 December 2014 3 5:00 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Win 10–0 Sergio Matias Submission (toe hold) Aspera Fighting Championship 14 29 November 2014 2 3:05 Lages, Brazil Welterweight debut.
Win 9–0 Deivid Caubiack KO (punch) Aspera Fighting Championship 11 30 August 2014 1 1:35 Curitibanos, Brazil
Win 8–0 Cristiano Marquesotti Submission (inverted triangle choke) Curitibanos AMG Fight Champion 9 November 2013 1 4:45 Curitibanos, Brazil
Win 7–0 Edson Jairo da Silva TKO (retirement) Predador Campos Fight 2 5 October 2013 3 4:00 Campos Novos, Brazil
Win 6–0 Alexandre Pereira KO (punch) Encontro dos Espartanos 10 August 2013 3 2:47 Blumenau, Brazil
Win 5–0 Pedro Keller de Souza KO (punch) Sparta MMA 7 15 June 2013 2 1:54 Balneário Camboriú, Brazil
Win 4–0 Paulo Batista KO (punch) Sparta MMA 6 28 May 2013 1 1:24 Itajaí, Brazil
Win 3–0 Junior Dietz TKO (punches) São João Super Fight: Forja de Campeões 4 May 2013 1 2:18 São João Batista, Brazil
Win 2–0 Muriel Giassi TKO (punches) Tavares Combat 6 6 April 2013 2 2:50 Palhoça, Brazil
Win 1–0 Luciano Oliveira Ribeiro Decision (unanimous) Sparta MMA 3 23 February 2013 3 5:00 Balneário Camboriú, Brazil Middleweight debut.

[51]

See also

References
  1. Sherdog.com. "Darren Till". Sherdog. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  2. "Darren Till | MMA Fighter Page | Tapology". Tapology. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  3. "UFC signs UK Muay Thai stylist for Goiania card". Bloody Elbow. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  4. J.R. Ventura (11 March 2018). "5 Things You Might Not Know About Darren Till". Sherdog.com.
  5. "Rankings | UFC". www.ufc.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  6. Rooney, Tom (11 September 2017). "Darren Till's road to UFC headliner? High school dropout, stabbed twice, cutting teeth in strange land". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  7. Bysouth, Alex (9 March 2019). "Darren Till on knife crime, 'surviving' in Brazil & meeting Steven Gerrard". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  8. "Darren Till's road to UFC headliner? High school dropout, stabbed twice, cutting teeth in strange land". MMA Junkie. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  9. Marrocco, Steven; Hathaway, Ken (5 August 2018). "Darren Till puts focus on 'legacy and greatness' in stark terms before first UFC title shot". MMA Junkie. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  10. "Darren Till". Tapology. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  11. "Darren Till: From Liverpool to Brazil and back again - Fighters Only". Fighters Only. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  12. "MMADecisions.com". MMADecisions.com. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  13. "UFC Fight Night 76 results: Nicholas Dalby rallies to earn draw with Darren Till". MMAjunkie. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  14. "UFC Fight Night 76 bonuses and awards: Darren Till, Nicolas Dalby and more take home $50,000 in Dublin". mmamania.com. 24 October 2015.
  15. "UFC Fight Night 109 results: Darren Till puts on striking clinic, cruises to win over Jessin Ayari". MMAjunkie. 28 May 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  16. Mike Bohn (1 August 2017). "Unbeaten welterweight Darren Till signs new 5-fight UFC deal". mmajunkie.com.
  17. "Darren Till to face Bojan Velickovic at UFC Rotterdam: British ace on Fight Night 115 bill". Dailystar.co.uk. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  18. "UFC-Rotterdam results: Darren Till strikes, showboats his way past Bojan Velickovic in crowd pleaser". MMAjunkie. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  19. Ryan Harkness (7 September 2017). "Donald Cerrone to fight Darren Till in UFC Gdansk main event". mmamania.com. Retrieved 7 September 2017. Till won that fight via TKO.
  20. "UFC Fight Night 118 results: Darren Till takes his respect from 'Cowboy,' jaws with Mike Perry". MMAjunkie. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  21. "UFC Fight Night 118 bonuses: Darren Till, Jan Blachowicz earn $50K for big finishes". MMAjunkie. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  22. Staff (26 May 2018). "UFC Fight Night 130 weigh-in results: Darren Till heavy but headliner still on (Updated)". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  23. http://www.fightmetric.com/fight-details/cd117bfce747184f
  24. "Darren Till def. Stephen Thompson". mmadecisions.com. 27 May 2018.
  25. Shaun Al-Shatti (24 July 2018). "Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till slated for UFC 228". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  26. "UFC 228 results: Tyron Woodley drops Darren Till, defends belt with second-round D'Arce choke". MMAjunkie. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  27. [{url = https://www.essentiallysports.com/ufc-news-throwback-when-tyron-woodley-embraced-his-opponent-after-defeating-him-darren-till/}
  28. Brett Okamoto (16 January 2019). "Darren Till, Jorge Masvidal to meet in main event of UFC Fight Night". espn. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  29. "UFC London results: Jorge Masvidal devastates Darren Till with crushing KO". MMA Junkie. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  30. Staff (16 March 2019). "UFC London Bonuses: Jorge Masvidal Banks An Extra $100K". lowkickmma.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  31. "Kelvin Gastelum vs. Darren Till set for UFC 244 in New York". MMAJunkie.com. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
  32. Richardson, Andrew (3 November 2019). "Till Splits Gastelum In Slow Bout". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  33. Iskenderov, Parviz (29 May 2020). "Robert Whittaker vs Darren Till to headline July 25 card on UFC Fight Island". FIGHTMAG. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  34. Anderson, Jay (25 July 2020). "UFC Fight Island 3 Results: Robert Whittaker Wins Close One Against Darren Till". Cageside Press. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  35. Martin, Damon (21 August 2020). "Darren Till vs. Jack Hermansson headlines Dec. 5 UFC Fight Night". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  36. Alexander K. Lee, Damon Martin (6 November 2020). "Darren Till out of Dec. 5 UFC Fight Night main event, Kevin Holland steps in to fight Jack Hermansson". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  37. Nolan King and Mike Bohn (26 January 2021). "Darren Till vs. Marvin Vettori targeted to headline UFC Fight Night on April 10". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  38. "UFC Fight Night 118 bonuses: Darren Till, Jan Blachowicz earn $50K for big finishes". MMAjunkie. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  39. "Pundit Arena's 2017 UFC Awards - Pundit Arena". www.punditarena.com. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  40. DNA, MMA. "MMA DNA UFC Awards 2017 : De Uitslagen!!!". Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  41. "Darren Till's road to UFC headliner? High school dropout, stabbed twice, cutting teeth in strange land". MMA Junkie. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  42. "Reports: UFC's Darren Till arrested for allegedly stealing cab, trashing hotel in Canary Islands". MMAJunkie.com. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  43. "Reports: Till fined for hotel damage, taxi theft". ESPN.com. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  44. Steven Marrocco (5 August 2018). "Darren Till puts focus on 'legacy and greatness' in stark terms before first UFC title shot". mmajunkie.com.
  45. "UFC's Darren Till Announces New Daughter, 'Lockdown Baby'". tmz.com. 3 April 2020.
  46. MMAFightingonSBN (30 May 2015), UFC Fight Night 67: Darren Till Says He Didn't Get Paige VanZant Tattoo, retrieved 30 May 2017
  47. Best Fight Picks (15 July 2016), UFC welterweight Darren Till on Half The Battle, retrieved 30 May 2017
  48. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkbuQr_LaMk
  49. Juntos por BOLSONARO (2 September 2017), LUTADOR INGLÊS DARREN TILL: "LULA NA CADEIA E BOLSONARO PRESIDENTE 2018", retrieved 7 September 2018
  50. EDUARDO BOLSONARO (2 November 2017), Darren Till🇬🇧👏 fala sobre Bolsonaro em entrevista, retrieved 7 September 2018
  51. Sherdog.com. "Darren". Sherdog. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
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