Darren Till doesn’t think that Donald Cerrone wants to exchange strikes with him when they meet in the main event of UFC Fight Night 118 in Gdansk, Poland on Oct. 21.
Although “Cowboy” is known for his striking skills, Till thinks he brings too much size to the equation that will deter Cerrone from trading leather.
Till claims he would hold nothing against the former UFC lightweight contender if he looked to take the action to the ground.
In fact, he recommended that Cerrone try to force him to grapple, warning the veteran: “Do not stand with me, you will die.”
“Donald Cerrone is going to take me down. He’s coming to take me down. He’s too old and fragile to be standing with a guy like me,” Till told MMAFighting.com
“C’mon, look at the f**kin’ size of me for f**k’s sake! I’m twice his size, how the f**k is he going to strike with me? He’s coming to take me down, that’s his game plan.
“I don’t fault him for that. He’s getting old and he’s twice my age. Do not stand with me, you will die.”
Cerrone’s experience – he has competed in more than double the MMA contests that Till has – has been highlighted as one of his big advantages going into the main event clash.
Till has heard a lot of people reference Cerrone’s veteran knowledge as a factor ahead of their meeting, but having competed in Muay Thai since he was 12 years old, and with his unbeaten MMA record intact, he doesn’t think “Cowboy” brings anything new to the table.
“Cerrone is the old generation and he’s fighting the new generation. He can say what he likes about him having more fights than me, but let’s get something straight – I’ve been fighting since I was 12 years old,” Till said.
“I had my first professional fight when I was 15, so I’m no stranger to experience in fights. I’ve had my fair share and still, no one has been able to beat me in MMA.
“You can say what you like – I haven’t fought the top guys or whatever – but no one has been able to take my undefeated record so far.
“It’s going to have to be a very special person that beats me, and it ain’t Cerrone.”
Till has promised to be more aggressive against Cerrone having gone the distance in his last three visits to the Octagon.
“I’m just going to be Darren Till. I’m going to be very clever and I’m going to be a lot more aggressive in this fight. I’m not gonna let Cerrone off like I let my last two opponents off.
“I’m not going to let him have any breaks. When I hit him I’m going to follow it up and I’m going to hurt him – I want to hurt him. That’s what I want to do,” he revealed.
“I want to put him in a world of pain, this is f**kin’ fighting here.
“After the fight, we can shake hands and have a beer and it’s all good fun, but when we’re in that cage it’s time for pain. It’s time to win and I’m going to win.”
The Liverpool native believes he has got into Cerrone’s head ahead of the fight, but underlined his respect for his counterpart.
“It’s funny because I’ve been talking sh*t about Donald Cerrone and I’m just talking about everything genuinely. I’m talking about going in there and knocking him out,” he said.
“He can say what he likes. I saw the promo the other day and he looks a bit angry with me. He’s like, ‘This kid, I’ve got more performances than him’.
“I seen he grew his hair back to so maybe my baldy shouts are getting to him.
“When it’s all said and done and the sh*t talk is done, Donald Cerrone is a guy that deserves respect from every person on the planet, including myself.
“I respect him highly, so don’t mistake what I’m saying as disrespect. I respect the man.
“Look, he’s got his fans. He’s got nearly a million followers on Instagram and they’re all coming at me. I don’t give a f**k.
“You can come to me, you can chat shit, but at the end of the day it’s only me and Donald in that cage – you cannot help him.”