Darren Till is set to finally return to the Octagon, after dealing with a broken collarbone. However he says that he is still having problems with his collarbone, and does not want his opponent, Derek Brunson to attack it.
Fans were gutted to hear that Till was out of his fight with Marvin Vettori due to a broken collarbone. Marvin even doubted the severity of the injury, saying that Darren was ducking him, but Darren provided proof that it was legit.
Now Darren is set to return against Derek Brunson this weekend, but he is apparently still having troubles with the collarbone. He revealed as much in a recent interview, essentially begging his opponent to attack him anywhere but there.
“Why would I pull out of (the Vettori) fight? Everyone knows I fight anywhere, anytime, anyone, whatever. Why am I pulling out of this fight? I physically wanted to do everything to fight. I wanted to get injections if I could, anything to stop the pain. I had a broken collarbone, and it’s still not okay now. Don’t be going for it, Derek. Don’t be going for me collarbones, go for anything else,” Till said.
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Darren Till Wants A Finish
That being said, Darren Till seems to be in good enough shape to fight again, which counts for something. He will be taking on number five ranked Brunson, as he looks to end his opponent’s four-fight streak.
This is a fight that Darren believes will be a showcase for his skills, being the younger man with better striking. In fact, he believes that a finish will come without him having to hunt for it too much.
“I can see myself, not looking for the finish, but the finish coming naturally. I think Derek’s going to make mistakes, and I think I’m going to capitalize on his mistakes. I do think I’m going to stop him. I can see it. I’ve visualized it every day,” Till said.
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Number One Contender’s Fight?
While middleweight champ Israel Adesanya is expected to rematch Robert Whittaker in his next fight, there is a bit of a question as to who is next in line after that. Darren Till believes that, depending on how the fight goes, this could be a number one contender’s bout.
He says that he knows he is just one win away from a title shot at all times, which falls in line with how much Adesanya has called for a fight with him. All he needs to do is perform well, and he could be looking at a title shot in his next fight.
“It’s a 50/50, it could be (a number one contender fight), it could not be. It just depends on where the Izzy and Rob fights are. I fought Rob, Derek’s fought both of them,” Till explained.
“I’m always one fight away from a title shot. Him and his coach, they’re dying to fight me. Me and my coach, we’re dying to fight him. But there’s a big stack on Saturday, and maybe potentially it’s a number one contender fight.”
Before Darren Till can think about a title shot, he must first take on Derek Brunson. The two meet this weekend, in the main event of UFC Vegas 36.
