‘Darren Till Will Be Champion One Day!’

It’s one hell of a time for British mixed martial arts (MMA).

Thanks to burgeoning superstars like Paddy Pimblett, Tom Aspinall, and Molly McCann, England has been graced with two big London Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events in 2022. Most recently, the country saw only its second champion in promotional history crowned at UFC 278 two weekends ago (Aug. 20, 2022).

Pulling off a sensational comeback knockout against Kamaru Usman (watch highlights), Leon Edwards joined Michael Bisping in British MMA history. Before the Pimbletts and Aspinalls, however, another star slowly emerged in the form of Middleweight contender, Darren Till. Despite “The Gorilla’s” recent struggles, in and out of the Octagon, Bisping still sees him joining the select group before he’s done in the sport.

“Darren Till — you’re laughing at me because he’s 1-3 in his last four — Darren Till will be champion one day,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel (h/t MMA Junkie). “His striking is phenomenal. His mind is strong. He’s just had a bit of a bad run. And again, 29 years old. He’ll be champ.”

In Sept. 2018, Till challenged for his first world title as a Welterweight contender, suffering a second round d’arce choke submission loss to the champion, Tyron Woodley (watch highlights).

For the Liverpool native, Till still has yet to show off any drastic improvements made since having sparked his friendship with top Welterweight, Khamzat Chimaev. Till now hopes to return within the coming months after having five bouts fall through dating back to 2020.

In regards to other Brits with championship potential, Bisping also gave a shout to the aforementioned Heavyweight dynamo, Aspinall.

“People seem to think I’m salty that Leon won,” Bisping said. “I am over the goddamn moon for Leon, and I support every fighter from the U.K. Of course I wasn’t going to be the first and only one. We’re going to have a slew of champions coming from the U.K. Tom Aspinall, as we know, sadly really hurt his leg. But Tom will be champion. He will be back. He’s going to rehab, he’s going to have the surgery, he’s going to be coming back six months, nine months, maybe a year. But he’s only 29 years old and he will be champion of the Heavyweight division — make no mistake. Mark my words.”