Darren “The Gorilla” Till (18-2-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC)
Welterweight (170lbs): 4-2-1 (UFC), UFC Welterweight Title Challenger, Missed weight two times
Middleweight (185lbs): 1-0 (UFC)
Darren Till stared out white-hot in the UFC’s welterweight division, gaining the attention of many fans after his first-round TKO destruction of Donald Cerrone back in late 2017. The nickname ‘The Gorilla’ is so fitting for Till especially while he was in the welterweight division because of just how large and built he was for 170lbs. At 6’0″ and a 75″ reach, and very broad shoulders and chest Darren had always struggled with making weight especially when he got to the UFC. Till missed weight for his sophomore UFC fight coming in at 176lbs against Jessin Ayari back in 2017.
After the Cowboy fight, Till was able to just squeeze past Stephen Thompson but again missed weight coming in at 174.5lbs. Despite missing weight and being in borderline critical condition, Till was granted an opportunity to challenge Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title in September of 2018. Unfortunately for Till, it was too much too soon, and he was finished by Woodley in the second round. In March of 2019, Till was brutally knocked out by former lightweight, Jorge Masvidal which forced him to reevaluate everything, starting with his excessive weight cut. Till moved up 15lbs to middleweight in order to give himself more breathing to take on another man who had recently done the same thing in Kelvin Gastelum. Darren came out on the right side of a split decision against Gastelum and with a win over the former champ at UFC Fight Island 3, he could be well on his way to another title shot in the UFC, but this time at middleweight.
