What’s Next For Darren Till?

Another weekend of fisticuffs has come and gone with UFC Vegas 36 blowing the roof off UFC Apex last Saturday night (Sept. 4, 2021) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Plenty of fighters were left licking their wounds including Sergey Spivak, who was knocked out by Tom Aspinall in the very first round (highlights).

And Luigi Vendramini, who was posterized by Paddy Pimblett after getting stopped via strikes in the very first round (see it again here). But which fighter is suffering from the worst post-fight hangover, now a few days removed from the show?

Darren Till.

Coming into his headlining bout against Derrek Brunson, Till was hoping to get back on the winning track after losing to Robert Whittaker in his previous bout. Instead, “The Gorilla” went home with his second straight loss after Brunson dominated him for the first four minutes before forcing him to tap in the very first round.

After starting off his career at 17-0-1, Till is just 1-4 in his last five fights, leaving him in no-man’s land. It’s hard to say where it’s gone wrong for Till, who has made it to the big dance once before. But after losing to Tyron Woodley in 2018 in that title fight, it’s been nothing but a downhill trajectory for him. Can he bounce back? Sure. But it will be a long road back to the top.

He can continue fighting at Middleweight, or he can go back down to Welterweight for one last hurrah, but it won’t be against Kamaru Usman.

For my money, I wouldn’t mind seeing Till go back down to 170 pounds. While he isn’t necessarily undersized at 185 pounds, he had better success at a division below to the point where he earned a shot at the title.

As for what’s next for Till, there are several options for him out there, but if he does go back down to Welterweight I wouldn’t mind seeing him face off against someone like Matt Brown. While the fight might sound odd to some, It would be entertaining for all.

Sure, Brown is coming off a knockout win over Dhiego Lima, but prior to that he was on a two fight losing streak himself, so it’s not like “Immortal” is in a position to be asking for (or turning down) many fights. A bout against Till would be a good one for Brown since “The Gorilla” will be more than happy to stand-and-bang, something Brown is known for.

Furthermore, a win over Till would help “Immortal” gain some ground at 170 pounds. For Till, a fight against Brown is a decent match up because he will have the chance to defeat a well-known veteran in order to turn his career around.

If that doesn’t work, perhaps a rematch against Nicolas Dalby would be a good fit The two fought to a draw in 2015 so they do have some unsettled business. Dalby is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Tim Means so he is also in search of a big win, as well.

Till is currently at a crossroads in his career, so all we can do for now is see just what the brash Brit plans on doing moving forward.