Darren Till would miss UFC London for ‘Wonderboy’ fight, rips Kamaru Usman’s ‘excuses’

Darren Till wouldn’t mind missing out on UFC London if it means he would get a shot at Stephen Thompson.

Kamaru Usman was expected to call the Englishman out following his dominant win over Emil Meek at UFC Fight Night 124 in St Louis on Sunday night. Instead, “The Nigerian Nightmare” tried to tie himself to a bout with Colby Covington.

Till admitted that he thought Usman would call for a fight with him in the post-fight interview and despite not seeing the fight, he claimed he has heard nothing but bad reviews of his adversary’s performance.

“I thought if he won, he would definitely say my name,” Till told MMA Fighting.

“I didn’t even watch the fight, but all I’ve heard is that he has terrible striking and all he did was force his opponent up against the fence.

“He might be able to do that to Emil Meek, but he wouldn’t be able to do it to me. I’m twice the size of him for f*ck’s sake. I’m twice as strong as him.”

Till blasted Usman for claiming he was at “30 percent” after his win.

“Usman has been talking so much sh*t and his performance didn’t prove anything to anyone. He’s saying that he was at 30 percent, but once you’re in that cage your excuses go out the window,” said Till.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re feeling ill or if you’ve got a broken bone, you’ve gone in there because you’ve decided that you’re in good enough condition to fight. I don’t believe in any of that bullsh*t.”

Many UK fans anticipate that the undefeated Team Kaobon fighter will be added to the upcoming London card on March 17, but Till insisted that he has yet to hear anything from the UFC with regard to his participation on the night.

“Honestly, I have not heard a whisper about the London card. Not a thing. That’s the god’s honest truth,” he said.

“It doesn’t worry me. I’m the biggest star in the welterweight division after the champion. I’m just sitting back, training and staying focused. I’m happy with everything as it stands. I’m only 25. I’m still young. I don’t mind sitting back and letting people get excited about my return.

“As I said, I haven’t heard anything about London. If I’m not on it, I’m not on it. If I’m on something else, I’m on something else. It’s down to the UFC. They’re my bosses. I’m contracted to Dana White and he’s the big boss. I’m ready to fight whoever they think I should fight.”

Although Till underlined that he does want to fight in London, he is adamant that a clash with Thompson takes precedent over everything else, regardless of where the bout takes place.

“I do want to be on the London card, but my preference is Stephen Thompson. I don’t mind where I have to go to fight him. I’ll go anywhere for that fight. I’ll fight him in any cage in the world. He’s the best striker and I want to prove that I’m the best striker,” he said.

“London is still going to be there in 10 years’ time. The fans will get to see me fight in London at some point. If the UFC want to book me somewhere else against Thompson, or even in the main event in London, I’ll take it wherever it’s going down.”

Till also claimed that he would open to a fight with Gunnar Nelson following the Icelandic fighter’s comments on last week’s episode of The MMA Hour.

“Gunni makes sense too,” Till said. “He’s a great fighter and he wants to prove that he can beat me. I respect it. He didn’t say anything disrespectful about me. Again, I know I would beat him, but if that’s the fight they make we’ll do it.”