Despite a multitude of potential opponents, former UFC title contender Darren Till is frequently questioned about a possible clash with Mike Perry whenever he makes a public appearance.
The two fighters have exchanged barbs publicly through interviews and social media, yet they have never officially been scheduled to compete. Till expressed a desire to change this in the near future, although he acknowledged some issues still need resolving before a fight can take place.
“I think we both want to fight each other,” Till commented. He added that Perry`s manager is currently “having a little argument” with him. “Malki [Kawa], sort your stuff out, mate,” Till said. “I`d love for it to happen. I think it`s going to happen at some point because we`re both around constantly. He`s with his promotion, they offered me some money to fight. It`s good money, to be honest. Was it enough? I don`t know.”
Till stated, “I`d love to fight him towards the end of this year, we can make it happen. We`ve got to get the weight right and stuff like that because I am the bigger guy. He knows that.”
Till`s history with Perry extends beyond their verbal exchanges, as they have previously sparred together.
This past interaction might explain some of the lingering animosity, as Till claims he clearly got the better of those sparring sessions, which he believes may still bother Perry.
“I`ve never really talked about our sparring but he likes to talk about sparring. I punched him all over the place,” Till stated. “What is he talking about? 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 discussions for a potential fight first emerged, Perry disclosed that his bare-knuckle promotion, BKFC, had made a substantial offer to Till for a bare-knuckle bout.
While keen on the fight itself, Till openly admitted that competing against Perry in bare-knuckle isn`t particularly appealing to him. Nevertheless, he is willing to consider it under a specific condition.
“Look, I`m 32, I`m a reasonably good-looking person,” Till remarked. “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`m not really that keen on bare-knuckle, but I just don`t want my face getting smashed up.”
He proposed his condition: “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. I just don`t want my face getting smashed. I`d have to be good with the defense work.”
Till`s proposal involves facing Perry in both a boxing match and a bare-knuckle contest. However, the question remains about returning to the sport where both men gained fame: MMA.
Before Till prepared for his boxing match against Darren Stewart and Perry became BKFC`s biggest star, both were prominent fighters in the UFC.
While both have moved on to new ventures, Till has not forgotten his MMA roots, partly due to constant reminders from fans.
“I want to tell you one thing, I`m not a very outgoing guy, I don`t attend shows, I`m very quiet,” Till stated. “People don`t get it, I`m 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 day, `When are you going back to MMA?`”
“I sort of questioned myself, did I have that much of an impact when I was in MMA? Because I didn`t realize I did, but I must have because people still love me,” he reflected. “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 defeats against Dricus du Plessis, Robert Whittaker, and Derek Brunson, yet the prospect of returning to the promotion is something he frequently considers.
Currently, Till is enjoying his move into professional boxing, but he remains connected to MMA, hoping his continued dedication might eventually lead to a return to the UFC.
“I know there`s this perception about me, and I`m joking, but I train really hard,” Till remarked. “I did it during my MMA days, I probably overtrained. A lot of people who were with me, Tom Aspinall knows I 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 too badly myself,” he continued. “I`ve set businesses up. I`ve become a bit of an entrepreneur myself. Like, I`ve got one of my companies that was on the canvas in a partnership with the UFC. It just all depends on the fight and stuff, but I think the passion will be there. Because I do want to go back. We`ll see.”
Despite his recent losses, Till believes he can still compete with the UFC`s top fighters, particularly in striking exchanges. This confidence in his stand-up game influenced his move to boxing, as he feels he always has the advantage when trading blows.
“Every time I was in a striking match in the UFC, apart from [Jorge] Masvidal, no one could really beat me [on the feet],” Till claimed. He added, “[Robert] Whittaker didn`t beat me on the feet, no way. 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, [Dricus du Plessis] didn`t.”
“My losses have always come via grappling,” he concluded. “Striking is my strength. 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.”
