Rising UFC welterweight contender Darren Till will square off against two-time UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson at Night 130 on May 27 live on FOX Sports 1 from inside Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.
Darren Till (16-0-1) looks like a potential star for the UFC, and the promotion is treating him as such, who is coming off a monstrous first-round knockout win over veteran Donald Cerrone back at UFC Fight Night 118 this past October.
A welterweight Till had been eyeing a fight with the former 170lbs title contender ever since his win over Cerrone. Since Thompson (14-2-1), is coming off a decision victory over Jorge Masvidal back in November. Before that, Thompson fought for the UFC championship twice but lost twice to current champion Tyron Woodley. Thompson isn’t happy pairing up with Till, as he was eyeing a fight with Rafael Dos Anjos.
Till in his recent interview, where he said, as soon the fight announced, a majority of fans reaction toward me was negative:
“Mate, I can tell you right now that 90% of people can’t wait for me to lose on May 27 to Wonderboy,” said Till told MMAnytt. “They want the so-called hype train to stop. I can’t tell you how many happy faces there are going to be if I get beat, but do you think I give a f**k about them? I couldn’t give a f**k about what anyone thinks, what my Mum thinks, what anyone [thinks].
“I’m putting in the hard work and putting my body through pain and pressure, so if people want to see me lose, okay. If people want to see me win, okay. It doesn’t matter as long as they tune in to see an absolute war.”
“There are other guys that deserve it before me, so I just want to beat Wonderboy and let the welterweight division take it’s course because sooner or later I know it’s going to end up with me having the belt.”
“Wonderboy has beaten everyone, so if I beat him, obviously it looks like I’m in line for a title shot, but I’m not really bothered if the UFC book it or they don’t,” Till said.
Till believes a win over Thompson can put him in a line for a title shot.
“When I beat Wonderboy I feel like I want to take on Colby, Usman, RDA, Masvidal, one of those guys,” Till said. “When I beat Wonderboy, those are the guys that I’m looking at next.
“All the guys I’ve called out are real, hard guys. At the end of the day, in order to be the best in the world, you have to fight the best. Those guy are the best so they’re all in my sights. They’ve got a target on their back.”
In your opinion between them who will come out victorious at UFC Liverpool?
