UFC

New opponent critical: ”That’s the mistake Darren Till made”

Publicerat

1 november 2022

UFC star Darren Till will face Dricus Du Plessis next. Photo credit: Per Haljestam – USA TODAY Sports

On December 10, it’s time for middleweight Darren Till to return to the octagon. At the stacked UFC 282, the No. 9 ranked Liverpudlian will face No. 13 ranked South African Dricus Du Plessis.

In a recent interview with The AllStar, Du Plessis opened up on the upcoming fight and gives his view of Till as a middleweight fighter.

“You could see he was a big welterweight. Then he made the transition to middleweight, as I did. I took a year off to make the transition, doing it in the correct way. I felt with Darren Till, once he actually moved to middleweight, the change for him was, ‘This is going to be easier now.’ Now that he doesn’t have to cut the weight anymore and can eat a little bit better. That’s the wrong approach,” Du Plessis said.

”Definitely not in shape”

The No. 13 ranked middleweight claimed that it’s harder, rather than easier, going up a division since a fighter has to put on the muscle to the weight in a good way.

”You can’t put on fat and just go big, and think you’re gonna be competing with the best in the world that are real middleweights. I think that’s the mistake Darren Till made,” Du Plessis reasoned.

”The way he approached going to middleweight, he didn’t put on the good weight. We saw him in his last few fights — definitely not in shape, not the shape we know Darren Till to be in. He gassed out quick, got overpowered.”

The South African fighter is undefeated in the UFC with three wins over Markus Perez, Trevin Giles and Brad Tavares. The fight against Darren Till will be his biggest in the promotion so far.