The following article was published on this day three years ago. It is presented to you in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of The MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago...
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH 13, 2019, 12:32 PM]
Darren Till suffered the first defeat of his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career in his last fight. "
The Gorilla" was submitted in the second round of his UFC welterweight title contest with Tyron Woodley in September. Now, he's looking to bounce back this weekend (Sat. March 16, 2019) against Jorge Masvidal at UFC London.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Till admitted that his loss to Woodley still stings, and he doesn't think he'll ever move past it. In fact, he's realistic that the same thing could happen to him this weekend, and he's not scared to talk about it:
“I don’t think I’ll ever move past it,” Till said. “I’m not ashamed to say it still hurts every day if it comes to mind. I’ve watched the fight many times, and it’s just something inside of me. Even if I get the rematch with Woodley and beat him, the first fight will still be a thorn inside of me.
“I’ve always said that openly, you can’t really go through this life – a normal life or the fighting life – with it all being highs. The lows do come, and I always said that a loss would come. A loss may come again. A loss may happen Saturday. I’m not scared to talk about it because it’s all reality. I am a realist.”
With a new champion at the helm, the welterweight division is ripe for the picking in regards to big fights. Should Till emerge victorious this weekend with a big showing, he could be right back in line for title contention. However, he needs to get past a hungry Masvidal first.
"Gamebred" hasn't won a fight since January of 2017. After back-to-back losses, and not having fought since November of 2017, Masvidal might have to shake off some ring rust before he gets going against a striker the caliber of Till on Saturday.
Who are you picking for Till vs. Masvidal this weekend?