5 reasons why Darren Till might never become a champion
At one point in time, Darren Till was regarded as a future UFC world champion. Upon signing with the promotion, 'The Gorilla' embarked on an unbeaten run in the UFC welterweight division. Tall and long, Darren Till's size worked to his advantage as he forged himself into a rangy counter-striker.
After Till bested Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson in a striking contest, all anyone could think of was for 'The Gorilla' to acquire strong anti-wrestling skills. Unfortunately, the Englishman's attempts at capturing championship gold went up in flames. In the second round, Till was knocked down and choked out by the then reigning welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
Darren Till could do nothing but look on as 'The Chosen One' celebrated his third title defense. After suffering the first loss of his career, Till was dealt a second blow after getting knocked out by Jorge Masvidal in his subsequent bout. With back-to-back losses at welterweight, Till made his return to middleweight, a weight class he hadn't competed in since 2014.
He faced Kelvin Gastelum and used his clinch game to smother his foe's offense en route to claiming a split-decision win. Alas, Till suffered two back-to-back losses in the following bouts and went from being an undefeated fighter to losing four out of five fights. Thus, the initial predictions heralding Darren Till as a future UFC champion seem like a distant memory. While Michael Bisping recently said otherwise, this list goes over five reasons why Till might never win a title in the UFC.
#5. Darren Till's size for his weightclass
Currently, Darren Till fights in the middleweight division. Standing at exactly 6 feet tall with a reach of 74.5 inches, Till is undersized in a weight class where the reigning champion Israel Adesanya is 6 feet 4 inches in height. Till's last appearance inside the octagon was against Derek Brunson. Too small to contend with Brunson's size and strength, 'The Gorilla' was outwrestled and eventually submitted in the third round. While Till is only one inch shorter than Brunson, his frame is narrower and thinner.
Darren Till SHOULD be on a six-fight losing streak now. He’s just not as effective at 185. https://t.co/9vjw1StU5b
Without a large enough frame to compete at middleweight, Darren Till not only lacks the strength to contend with the division's elite, but given his comparatively shorter reach and height, he won't be able to implement a rangy striking game against more technical strikers like Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira who have a significant reach advantage over him.
However, should Till decide on a welterweight return, he'd find his size an obstacle that didn't exist in his initial run through the division. Over the years, his frame has widened and thickened. He can no longer cut down to 170 lbs without reaching a point of diminishing returns and negatively impacting his cardio, durability and overall strength. Thus, Darren Till is in no man's land.