Darren Till thinks it’s inevitable that he’ll eventually fight Israel Adesanya.
Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC), a former title challenger at welterweight, has struggled to get his feet wet since moving up to 185 pounds. He will look to snap a two-fight losing skid when he faces South African knockout artist Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 282.
But Till still thinks he belongs among the elite at middleweight. He uses his close decision loss to Robert Whittaker in July 2020 as a good gauge of where he stands and aims to bounce back and eventually get that Adesanya (23-1 MMA, 12-1 UFC) fight – whether or not he’s still champion.
“One of my big goals, at the end of all this, is to have fought Izzy,” Till told ESPN. “Not for the title, if he’s got the title at the time, but he’s mentioned me more than I’ve mentioned him. I think in his head it’s that striking mentality. I think he wants to find out – I mean obviously point present, yeah, he’s a better striker.
“He’s obviously doing and achieving better things. But I think me and him know between us, that’s the striking match, so I would like to get that. He beat Whittaker, but I’m the second guy after Izzy who’s really made Whittaker fight. We’ll see. That’s a nice little goal I’ve got in my head.”
Adesanya has expressed interest in facing Till in the past, but the popular Scouser hasn’t been able to string together enough wins for title contention. However, Till thinks “The Stylebender” is equally as eager to fight him.
“He calls me out more than I call him out,” Till added. “I’m not calling him out. IIt would be a disrespect to him for me to call him out. I’m not in a position right now. But every time he does an interview with BT Sport or someone, he always mentions me, so it’s obviously something that’s in his mind and in his head. I know he respects my striking massively, and I respect his striking.”
UFC title fight or not, Darren Till wants Israel Adesanya: ‘He respects my striking massively’
