- Dana White clarified that Darren Till wanted to be released and the UFC granted his wish
- The UFC president said they might still be open for the possibility of Till’s return
After his submission loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 282, Darren Till admitted that he’s unsure of what lies ahead of him. Earlier this month, the UFC released him and Dana White lifted the lid on the issue.
Darren insisted
To address all the confusion once and for all, White spoke to reporters during his UFC 285 post-fight press conference and revealed that they just granted Till’s wish. As per the UFC boss, “The Gorilla” reached out and said he no longer sees himself staying in the UFC and wanted out, to which the promotion obliged.
“Like Darren Till said, we have an incredible relationship with Darren Till. We like him and we respect him very much. Let me just put it to you this way, Darren Till’s not the only guy that’s ever come to us and said, ‘I just can’t compete here anymore’ – He did ask for his release and we did release him,” White said.
https://www.instagram.com/p/ClD3CKkPy1t/?hl=en
“The Gorilla” is welcome
In all fairness to White, his statement echoed what Till said after his UFC exit. Shortly after, “The Gorilla” said he’s been receiving “crazy offers” from other promotions which created another confusion as he previously said he’ll be back.
Regardless of what Till has in mind at the moment, White said they might consider welcoming him back.
“I don’t know what his plans are for outside of the UFC but He’s a guy that we’ve had a great relationship with. We really like him. Obviously we wish him the best, and if he gets to a level where he thinks he’s ready to come back to the UFC, yeah, we’d probably do it,” the UFC president concluded.
Prior to his official UFC release, Till suffered a three-fight losing skid, all against the top contenders in the middleweight division. He last tasted a victory at UFC 244 when he secured a split decision win over Kelvin Gastelum.
Dana White confirms Darren Till was not cut from UFC and instead requested and was granted his release.
"We like him and we respect him very much."
Full story: https://t.co/rTAYWJbUXq pic.twitter.com/XR0LFJB34j
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) March 8, 2023
