Liverpool’s own, Darren Till, faces off against Marvin Vettori on the 10th of April. The ‘Gorilla’ believes that a win against ‘The Italian Dream’ will see him to a title fight against current middleweight champ, Israel Adesanya.
The Gorilla vs The Last Stylebender
Speaking with ESPN MMA‘s Ariel Helwani, Darren Till discussed why he believes a win over Vettori will leave him in the position to challenge for gold.
“I think me and Marvin are knocking on the door. It’s like a little mini middleweight competition right now. The same as lightweight. It excites me. To be at the top and to be getting these chances. I’ve got a steamroller in front of me, and I don’t wanna look to far ahead. I know Izzy’s calling me out practically. I’ve called him out for a long time. We were destined to fight even when I was a welterweight. He called me out then, when I was at the top of welterweight.”
“Listen, just let him relax for now. Let him enjoy his money and the fruits of his labour. And give him some time to watch these middleweights now. Me and all the other guys go at it. We’ll see how it plays out.”
In terms of an actual style matchup between himself and Adesanya, Till is relishing the chance to fight an opponent who is on a similar level of striking to him. He stated that:
“This is the thing. I think it’s one of those fights with me and Izzy. It’s magician vs magiciain. Who’s got the kryptonite to beat the other guys striking. I’ve said it for the longest time, I’m one of the best strikers in the UFC. And I think Izzy is definietly there. He could be ahead. He probably is, the way he’s been fighting, he’s ahead of me right now. I just feel like I’ve got them specifics to beat him. I’m sure he’s up for the challenge, and thinks he’s got the specifics to beat me. I think it’s gonna be a good fight when it happens.
Till also stated that he is very much focused on the task at hand. Mavin Vettori is one of the most elite middleweights in the UFC, and Till is not looking past him. He had the following to say about Vettori:
“I’m confident I’m gonna win on April 10th, against Marvin. I know it’s a big task ahead of me. And then we’ll see.”
