Darren Till’s weight might be “not great.” But he’s vowing to successfully hit the mark Friday.
The UFC welterweight title challenger said Wednesday at UFC 228 open workouts that he was 182 pounds this morning, still 12 off the 170-pound limit he needs to reach in order to face Tyron Woodley for the belt Saturday night. That’s not a huge number for someone in his division at this juncture, though.
“So, we’ll see,” Till said. “Friday I’m not stepping on any heavier than 170. Hopefully under, so I can have me traditional Coke I’m used to having. We’ll see. But I’m not looking ahead — I’m not thinking about tomorrow, I’m not thinking about Friday. I’m thinking about today, open workouts.”
Till, 25, said he was 182 pounds on Wednesday of the fight week before fighting Donald Cerrone last October and that weight cut went smoothly. Last fight, Till missed by 3 pounds ahead of a bout with Stephen Thompson back in May. The Liverpool native has missed weight twice in six UFC outings.
“I’m never gonna say it’s a great cut, it’s always hard,” Till said. “But listen, I’m lean, I’m focused. Weight’s OK. I never want to stand here and say the weight is great, this has been the best weight cut. Because the fighters do that and I just don’t agree with it. It’s a lie. Weight’s not great. I don’t want to speak to anyone. I just want to get me things done. It’s business. Business is business. And Saturday is business, Friday is business. My life is this business.”
Till (17-0-1) has a potential title challenge coming Saturday, but the biggest storyline coming into this week has been — and will continue to be — his weight. It’s so much of an issue that contender Kamaru Usman will weigh-in as an alternate Friday in case something goes wrong. However, Woodley has said he’ll only fight Till.
“I’ve put my life into this, so speed bumps along the way,” Till sad. “Not making weight, you get all this attention for it. It’s like you’re the only fighter who’s missed weight in the division, in the whole of the UFC. … It’s a mistake on my part, but Friday all the talk will be done. No mother f*cker can ask me about weight again — he’s getting slapped.”
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