Despite a wide range of potential opponents, former UFC title challenger Darren Till is consistently questioned about a possible fight against Mike Perry.
The two fighters have engaged in a public war of words through interviews and social media platforms, yet a bout between Till and Perry has never been officially scheduled. Till expressed his desire to change this in the near future but admitted that several details still need resolving before he can step into the ring with Perry.
“I think we both genuinely want to fight each other,” Till told MMA Fighting. “His manager is currently causing a bit of a fuss with me. Malki [Kawa], sort things out, mate, you little pest. I would absolutely love for this to happen. I believe it will occur at some point because we`re both always prominent. He`s involved with his promotion, and they offered me money to fight. To be fair, it was a good offer. Was it enough? I`m not entirely sure.”
He added, “I`d be keen to fight him towards the end of this year; we can make it happen. We need to sort out the weight properly and things like that because I am the naturally larger guy. He knows that.”
Till`s history with Perry goes beyond their verbal altercations, as they have previously sparred together.
This past experience might explain some of the ongoing animosity, as Till claims he decisively got the better of those sparring sessions, suggesting it might still be bothering Perry.
“I`ve never really discussed our sparring, but he seems to enjoy talking about it. I absolutely battered him,” Till stated. “What is he even talking about? I would genuinely love to fight him, and he`s a good person. He`s a family man. He`s earned a lot of money. I`m not one to hate. I`m happy for him.”
When discussions about booking the fight first began, Perry revealed that his promoters at BKFC made Till a lucrative offer to remove the gloves and face him in a bare-knuckle bout.
As much as he wants the fight itself, Till frankly admitted that a bare-knuckle showdown with Perry doesn`t hold much interest for him. However, he is willing to make that concession under one specific condition.
“Look, I`m 32, and I consider myself half a good looking person,” Till said candidly. “I am good looking, and I wouldn`t particularly like to do bare-knuckle. Not because I`m afraid of it, mate. I`ve been in plenty of fist fights. My nose is scarred from a fight in Liverpool just last month, which was completely unnecessary. That`s not to say I started it; I just got caught in the middle. I`m not overly enthusiastic about bare-knuckle, mainly because I don`t want my face getting significantly damaged.”
He then proposed, “But if we have a fight in boxing, and when I knock him out in boxing—which I obviously will—then we can do it in bare-knuckle. I just really want to avoid getting my face smashed up. I`d need to be excellent with my defense.”
Till`s proposed two-fight offer involves engaging Perry in both boxing and bare-knuckle fighting. But what about the sport that originally propelled both of them to fame?
Long before Till was preparing for a boxing match against Darren Stewart at Misfits Boxing 21, and before Perry undeniably became the biggest star in BKFC, they were both mainstays on the UFC roster.
While both have moved on to new pursuits, Till hasn`t forgotten his roots in MMA, especially because fans constantly remind him.
“Let me tell you something, I`m not a very public person; I don`t attend events; I`m quite reserved,” Till explained. “People don`t grasp this; I`m extremely quiet. I much prefer staying at home. I suffer from significant social anxiety, but somehow, people still stop me every single day, asking `When are you going back to MMA?`”
He reflected, “I sort of questioned myself, like did I truly have that significant impact when I was in MMA? Because I didn`t realize I did, but I must have, as people still genuinely love me. I think sometimes I`m too hard on myself because I had a few losses and things like that, but I shouldn`t be so critical.”
Till departed the UFC following three consecutive losses to Dricus du Plessis, Robert Whittaker, and Derek Brunson, but the prospect of returning to his former arena is never far from his thoughts.
Currently, Till is undoubtedly enjoying his transition into professional boxing, yet he never completely drifts away from MMA, holding onto hopes that his continued dedication might eventually lead to a reunion with the UFC.
“I know there`s a certain perception about me out there, and I`m half joking, but I train incredibly hard,” Till stated. “I did this during my MMA career; I probably even overtrained. Many people who were alongside me, like Tom Aspinall, know I overtrained. If anyone ever asked him, he`d say, `Till overtrained.` So it just depends.”
“If the passion isn`t there like it used to be now, and especially outside of fighting, it`s not like I`m doing poorly for myself. I`ve established businesses. I`ve become a bit of an entrepreneur myself. For example, one of my companies had a partnership placement on the canvas in the UFC. It all really depends on the fight and circumstances, but I think the desire will be there. Because I truly do want to go back. We`ll see.”
Despite his past losses, Till is confident he is still capable of competing with the top fighters in the UFC, particularly when the fight remains standing. This conviction is what drew him to boxing, as Till believes that whenever he is standing and trading strikes with an opponent, he holds the advantage.
“Every time I was in a striking exchange in the UFC, aside from [Jorge] Masvidal, very few could truly beat me,” Till asserted. “[Robert] Whittaker did not beat me on the feet, absolutely not. Stephen Thompson didn`t beat me on the feet. `Cowboy` [Donald Cerrone] didn`t. [Kelvin] Gastelum didn`t. Derek Brunson didn`t, even though he beat me overall, [Dricus du Plessis] didn`t beat me in striking exchanges either.”
He concluded, “My losses have almost always come via grappling, and sometimes a level below what I`m truly capable of, even though I`m not known for knees specifically; striking is clearly my forte. If you intend to strike with me, you genuinely need to be excellent. I don`t care if you`re a high-level boxer or whatever.”
