Darren Till: Last Line Of Defence

On July 23rd when the UFC returns to London for the second time this year, Darren Till will be defending more than just home soil. Scheduled for the co-main event against foreign invader Jack Hermansson, Till’s status as a legitimate middleweight contender is likely on the line this time around.

Winning just one of his last five fights in the UFC, Till is without a win since his middleweight debut against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244 in November of 2019. Whilst following that with a close decision loss to Robert Whittaker didn’t feel like a huge step backwards, it did feel like a massive opportunity was missed. It would be over a year until we would see Darren back in the cage after several cancellations with the likes of Hermansson and Marvin Vettori. Arguably the most damaging loss of his career, Till was beaten on his return by Derek Brunson who despite a great start for ‘The Gorilla’, was able to take Till down consistently and submitted him in the third round.

Whilst the loss to Brunson was a huge hit to Till’s momentum and stock in the division, he has regained that in recent months through an unlikely partnership. Linking up with arguably the most hyped fighter in the sport, Khamzat Chimaev has brought back the side of Till that people want to see. His bromance with Chimaev has got people excited to see Till now but he has to win on July 23rd to keep this positivity going, he can’t afford to be known as a hilarious character who doesn’t usually deliver the goods come fight night.

In Jack Hermansson he faces a perfect test of his credibility as a top middleweight in the UFC. The biggest threat in this fight is Hermansson’s grappling prowess as fans will be hoping that Till’s training with Chimaev has helped him to get that fire back inside but also improve on some of the weaker areas of his game. Hermansson is a fighter that has proved himself in the top 15 time and time again but never beats the guys who go on to title eliminators or to fight for the belt itself. His most recent losses have come to Sean Strickland, Marvin Vettori and Jared Cannonier whilst he has been able to keep his spot thanks to wins over Edmen Shahbazyan, Kelvin Gastelum and Jacare Souza. 

Jack Hermansson is the acid test. Can Darren Till beat a guy that loses to the very best of the division and in that process, can he stop ‘The Joker’ from taking him down the same way Brunson did. INterestingly, the one fight that Till has won in his last five was when he wasn’t the main event attraction but you can’t look past the pressure on his shoulders going into this one.

Whoever loses could find themselves out of the elite middleweight picture for good. It’s sink or swim time in London and the Thames is rising high.