Things weren’t right for Darren Till earlier today (Sat., May 26, 2018) at weigh-ins, missed weight for the welterweight bout by 3.5 pounds.
Till had to deal with a family emergency, that took place before the weigh-ins were about to begin, UFC officials granted him an extra hour to shed the weight, but he still came over the limit.
“Wonderboy,” a former two-time title challenger, ultimately still agreed to the fight, but under certain conditions. Till will forfeit 30 percent of his fight purse to Wonderboy. Second, he must weigh 188 pounds or less at 1 p.m. on fight day.
In an interview with MMAjunkie, Till was contrite and explain the failed weight cut. Darren went on to add he offered his entire paycheck to stop the bout from being scratched.
“There’s never no excuse for missing weight,” Till told MMAjunkie. “I always say it: When you fight, and you lose a fight, there’s no excuse. You lose. Same with the battle with the scales. This time I lost, and there’s no excuse. I know that the UFC said why I missed and gave some information. When I started cutting weight I got an emergency call. It was a family matter. I just had to go to the hospital there and back. I only had five kilos (11 pounds) to go. Usually I have six, seven. I was running. I was OK. I was fine. And I tried to get in the sauna, tried to get in the steam, I tried to do a bath. It just wasn’t happening. I was knackered.
“I missed weight, and I’m truly embarrassed by it, but the fight’s still on hopefully. I’ve got to weigh in again tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes. I know they’re very adamant I’ve got to weigh a certain weight. The ball’s in their court.
“Listen, I offered 100 percent of my purse. Money is no object. Money will come sooner than later. I offered 100 percent.”
Till is worrisome and isn’t sure if he’ll able to meet Thompson’s terms for their main headliner bout tomorrow from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.
“They were adamant I had to weigh in 83-85 kilo (182-187 pounds), which just – it’s bad for me health,” Till said. “We’ll see what happens in the morning when I weigh. I’ve already started drinking. I’ve already started filling back up. We’ll see. I’m sure the fight’s on. I’ll have to pass medicals, and I’ll have to train tonight or tomorrow. But I’m mentally prepared for anything. Nothing gets to me in this life. If I do have to train in the morning to make the weight and cut again, I’ll do it.
“Eighty-five kilo tomorrow morning is not enough. It’s not that it’s not enough. I just put weight on so quick. I’ve got a slow metabolism. I just started drinking before, and it went up like that. So, we’ll see. It could be a mind game. If I have to make the weight, I’ll make it.”
The undefeated contender said he’d do his best to make the weight and attempting to focus only on his fight.
