Despite numerous potential matchups available to him, former UFC title contender Darren Till is frequently questioned about a possible showdown against Mike Perry.
Although the two fighters have engaged in a lengthy public exchange of words through interviews and social media, a bout between Till and Perry has never been officially scheduled. Till expressed his desire to see this happen soon, while acknowledging that certain details still need to be resolved before they can meet in the ring.
“I think we both do want to fight each other,” Till commented. “His manager`s having a little c*ck off with me at the moment. Malki [Kawa] sort your shit out, mate, you little crab. I`d love for it to happen. I think it`s going to happen at some point because we`re both there all the time. He`s got his promotion, they offered me some money to fight. It`s good money to be fair. Was it enough? I don`t know.”
Till expressed interest in facing Perry later this year, adding, “We can make it happen.” He also pointed out the necessity of agreeing on a suitable weight, acknowledging, “I am the bigger guy. He knows that.”
Till and Perry share a history that goes beyond their verbal altercations; they have previously sparred together.
This shared past might explain some of the lingering animosity, as Till claims he decisively got the better of those sparring sessions and suggests this may still be a point of contention for Perry.
“I`ve never really talked about our sparring but he likes to talk about sparring. I punched him from pillar to post,” Till said, adding a rhetorical question, “What`s he on about?” Despite the back-and-forth, he expressed respect for Perry: “I`d love to fight him, I really would and he`s a good guy. He`s a family man. He`s made a lot of money. I`m not a hater. I`m happy for the guy.”
When initial talks about booking the fight emerged, Perry revealed that his promoters at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) had presented Till with a lucrative offer to face him without gloves.
As much as he desires the fight, Till openly admitted that competing against Perry in bare-knuckle isn`t particularly appealing to him. However, he stated he would make that concession under one specific condition.
“Look, I`m 32, I`m half a good looking person,” Till joked. “I`m good looking, I wouldn`t like to do the bare-knuckle. Not because I`m scared of that, mate. I`ve had many fist fights. My nose is scarred from the other month, I had a fight in Liverpool on the street, which was a very unnecessary fight… I`m not really too asked about bare-knuckle, but I just don`t want my face getting smashed up.”
His proposed condition is a two-fight deal. He suggested, “But if we have a fight in boxing, when I knock him out in boxing—obviously, I’ll knock him out—we do it in the bare-knuckle.” He reiterated his concern about facial damage, adding, “I just don`t want my faced getting smashed. I`d have to be good with the defense work.”
Till`s offer of two fights means he would compete against Perry in both boxing and bare-knuckle. This naturally raises the question about the sport that originally brought them fame: mixed martial arts.
Long before Till began preparing for a boxing match against Darren Stewart at Misfits Boxing 21, and Perry became arguably the biggest star in BKFC, both were regular fixtures on the UFC roster.
While they have both transitioned to new ventures, Till has not forgotten his roots in MMA, largely because the fans constantly remind him.
“I want to tell you one thing, I`m not a very out there guy, I don`t attend shows, I`m very quiet,” Till said. “People don`t get it, I`m f*cking very quiet. I`d rather just stay in the house. I get bad social anxiety but I don`t know, people still stop me every f*cking day, everyday `When are you going back to MMA?`”
This persistent fan interest makes him reflect on his past impact in the sport.
“I sort of questioned myself like did I have that much of an impact when I was in MMA?” he mused. “Because I didn’t realize I did, but I must have because people still f*cking love me. I think sometimes I just knock myself down because I had a few losses and stuff like that but I shouldn’t be too hard on myself.”
Till departed the UFC following three consecutive losses to Dricus du Plessis, Robert Whittaker, and Derek Brunson. However, the prospect of returning to the organization remains a frequent consideration.
Currently, Till is clearly enjoying his shift into professional boxing. Nonetheless, he keeps MMA in his thoughts, hoping his efforts will eventually pave the way for a reunion with the UFC.
“I know there’s this stigma out there about me and I’m joking but I train f*cking hard,” Till stated. He admitted to overtraining during his time in MMA, mentioning that Tom Aspinall can attest to this. “If anyone ever asked him he would say `Till overtrained.` So it just depends.”
Till also touched upon his life outside fighting, highlighting his various business endeavors, including one company that partnered with the UFC, even appearing on the canvas. He reflected on his motivation for a return:
“If the fire is not there like it used to be now and especially outside of fighting, it`s not like I`m doing too bad myself… It just all depends about the fight and stuff but I think it will be there. Because I do want to go back. We’ll see.”
Despite his recent losses, Till maintains confidence in his ability to compete with the UFC`s elite, particularly when fights remain standing. His strong belief in his striking skills is a key reason for his move to boxing, as he feels he holds the advantage whenever he`s exchanging blows with an opponent.
“Every time I was in a striking match in the UFC, apart from [Jorge] Masvidal, no one could really beat me,” he asserted. He specifically mentioned Robert Whittaker, Stephen Thompson, Donald Cerrone, Kelvin Gastelum, Derek Brunson, and Dricus du Plessis, stating that none of them outstruck him, even if they won the overall fight.
Till identified grappling as the primary cause of his defeats.
“My losses have always come the way of grappling,” he explained. He proudly declared striking as his area of expertise: “striking’s my forte. If you’re going to strike with me, you’ve got to be good. I don’t care if you’re a boxer or what.”
