Getty Joe Rogan & Darren Till
Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till has fallen on hard times since fighting for the belt. And his upcoming opponent, Dricus Du Plessis, is questioning the English fighter’s mental state.
Till and Du Plessis will meet during UFC 282 on December 10 — the promotion’s final pay-per-view event of 2022. They’ll battle in a featured middleweight bout during the pay-per-view portion of the card. Till has only won once since his campaign for 170-pound gold was crushed by then-champion Tyron Woodley via second-round submission at UFC 228 in September 2018.
In March 2019, Till was knocked out by Jorge Masvidal in front of “The Gorilla’s” countrymen in London, England. The loss sent Till up to middleweight where he’s competed three times thus far. He earned a unanimous decision over Kelvin Gastelum during his weight class debut in November 2019 at UFC 244.
The Gorilla has suffered back-to-back losses since then, however. Former middleweight king Robert Whittaker beat Till by unanimous decision during a UFC on ESPN event in July 2020 and most recently, Derek Brunson stopped Till via third-round rear-naked choke in September 2021 at a UFC Fight Night event. Till headlined both cards.
Du Plessis Thinks Till Is ‘In His Own Head’
The losses, coupled with Till recently pulling out of multiple bouts against the likes of Jack Hermansson and Marvin Vettori due to injury, has Du Plessis questioning Till’s mentality.
“I think he’s in his own head,” Du Plessis said to the media during fight week. “When he started out, he was extremely motivated, he was a force at 170. He was a big 170. He was imposing his style on people — once you get to the big boys at middleweight, it’s a completely different story.”
Du Plessis further expanded his take on Till and why the Englishman elected to move up from welterweight to middleweight after losing to Woodley and Masvidal. And the South African fighter made it clear that for Till, 185 pounds wouldn’t be an easier road relative to 170.
“I think he took the move up as almost an easier route and that’s not the case at all,” Du Plessis said. “We hit a little harder. Everybody’s a little stronger at 185, and I believe that was where the big mistake came (in). Then, of course, Darren Till losing the big fight against Masvidal, getting back against Gastelum — it was not an amazing performance but he got the “W” — and then getting those losses, definitely the mental aspect, that’s where his biggest downfall came. And I don’t think he recovered from that. I think that’s where he’s his own worst enemy.”
Du Plessis Will Look to Continue His Ascending the Middleweight Ladder
Du Plessis boasts a professional mixed martial arts record of 17-2 which includes seven wins via KO/TKO and nine by submission. “Stillknocks” is 3-0 inside the Octagon and currently sports a five-fight win streak, holding wins over the likes of Brad Tavares and Trevin Giles.
Further, Du Plessis is currently ranked No. 14 in the promotion’s official middleweight standings. Stillknocks will look to snatch Till’s No. 10 spot on December 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.