A Massive Blow for the UFC as Another Highly Touted Prospect Misses Weight in a High-Profile Fight…
Oh Darren Till, what have you done? The Liverpool fighter is due to take on Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson on Saturday night, in the headline bout of the UFC’s debut in his home city. It was all set up to be a glorious return, a chance to make a statement against the No. 1 ranked welterweight fighter in the promotion.
After weeks of talking himself up, a lot of parallels were made between Till and Irish superstar Conor McGregor. Both men are from working-class backgrounds and rose quickly through the ranks with a combination of effective performances and creative trash talk.
Only Till has just gone and missed weight by over 3 pounds. The limit is 171, but he came in at 174.5. He’ll now be given an extra hour to make the remaining cut. If he doesn’t, it remains to be seen whether or not the fight will go ahead. Fellow hometown hero Molly McCann has also missed weight.
Rising Star
There’s little doubt that Till is a rising star within the organization. He’s got a crazy backstory. In 2012 he was stabbed twice in the back at a party, with the blade missing his main artery by a millimeter. After the near-death experience, his coach advised him to go to Brazil to train.
He’s unbeaten in his UFC career, although his record isn’t really that exciting. It was only after knocking out Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone that the world stood up to attention. Then Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson – who has made weight – reluctantly accepted the fight against the Liverpudlian star.
Big Blow
This is a big blow to Till and to the UFC. Nothing is more unprofessional than missing weight. If you’re a fighter, there are three things expected of you: you show up fit to fight, you make weight, and you fight clean. It’s really that simple.
As it’s not a title fight, a catchweight bout could be agreed. If negotiations go well – and you’ll expect the UFC will want to keep Till on the card in Liverpool – then he’ll face a 20% cut to his purse, which will be given to Thompson.
However, there are absolutely no guarantees this will happen. Thompson had very little to gain from this fight in the first place. He’s already the No. 1 ranked fighter. Losing to an overweight Till is the stuff of nightmares for the American. He is a highly professional fighter though, so it’s likely that some arrangement will be made.
You couldn't script this. Both hometown heroes Molly McCann and Darren Till miss weight. Unbelievable. #UFCLiverpool
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) May 26, 2018
Not Again
This is the second time in the space of a week that a rising star has missed weight. Mackenzie Dern, widely seen as the ‘next Ronda Rousey’, came into her strawweight fight against Amanda Bobby Cooper an incredible 7lbs over the limit.
To make matters worse, Molly McCann, Till’s fellow Scouser, came in overweight. The UFC faces the potential prospect that their debut card in one of the UK’s most passionate sporting cities will have no homegrown talent in the show. That’s the stuff of nightmares.
