Darren Till reveals that there's "only one fight" he should have if he beats Robert Whittaker

Darren Till had a successful entry into the Middleweight division last November when he faced former interim title challenger Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event of UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden.

On the big stage, Darren Till got the job done in an effective fight plan and that would mark a direct entry into the top 5 rankings for him. While former Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker was supposed to fight Jared Cannonier this past March, he pulled out due to personal reasons, while Cannonier is out for a while with an injury.

The no-brainer fight to make for the UFC was Darren Till vs Robert Whittaker, and the fight, originally scheduled to headline UFC Dublin in August, was moved to July end at Fight Island.

On the media day, Darren Till revealed that if he beats Robert Whittaker, the only direction for him is a title fight against Israel Adesanya or Paulo Costa (H/T BJPENN.com):

“Yes, of course. If I beat Robert Whittaker Saturday night, the only way to go is to the title. I’ve come to middleweight and a lot of people say he’s only had two fights, but look at my two fights,” Till said at media day. “This is why for every young fighter out there, or for every fighter in the UFC who sometimes may turn down fights, you have to take these big risks because it will pay off. I didn’t campaign for a title shot after I beat Stephan Thompson in Liverpool. I didn’t quite feel I deserved it. But, now if I beat Robert Whittaker, Saturday, which is a big ask and a big mountain to climb, the only fight for me is I say, Adesanya and Costa are scheduled to fight, the only fight for me is a title fight.”

Darren Till's last title attempt

It's interesting to see Darren Till acknowledge the fact that he wasn't ready for a Championship opportunity at Welterweight. After his somewhat controversial decision against Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson (in a fight where he missed weight), he would become then-Champion Tyron Woodley's challenger at UFC 228.

Unfortunately for Darren Till, he was decimated by The Chosen One and submitted in the first round, suffering the first defeat of his career. It was a case of UFC wanting to give Darren Till a promotional push as fast as possible, but it was clear that he wasn't at that level yet.

He lost to Jorge Masvidal following that and Gamebred would go on to have the best year of his career. As for Darren Till, he's made a comeback and will be looking to do the same at the expense of Robert The Reaper Whittaker, who steps into the Octagon for the first time in nearly ten months. It's the Australian's first fight since losing the UFC Middleweight Championship to Israel Adesanya.

Published 22 Jul 2020, 10:21 IST