Darren Till has admitted that he is quite a way from a world title fight with Israel Adesanya after losing four of his last five fights.
Before his world title effort against Tyron Woodley, the Brit had never lost in his career, but he has since tasted defeated in all but one of his outings at both welterweight and middleweight. He is now ranked No.8 in the 185lb division, but understands that he needs an impressive run of form to get back to title contention.
He has moved training camps to work with the promotional golden boy Khamzat Chimaev in Sweden, with the pair striking up a close friendship in camp. But it remains to be seen how much of a benefit it will prove to the Scouse fighter, who is currently recovering from injury.
"I feel like Adesanya’s a long way off,” Till told Submission Radio. “I feel like I just got to get a few wins under my belt and prove how good I am to the people again. Obviously, as soon as I get that title fight and win, I know I can beat Adesanya.
"The sky’s the limit then. The possibilities are endless. I’ve just got to work hard and stay humble and do the right things by myself and have a good supportive group around me.
"I've got that now, especially with my newfound venture in blockasset [his cryptocurrency company that works alongside Chimaev] and these guys who are going to great lengths just to look after me in a special way.
"It's humbling for me, I'm a humble man and it's humbling when people really want to take care of your well-being."
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Till's four losses have aged poorly, with Derek Brunson being brutally stopped in his No.1-contender fight at UFC 271 with Jared Cannonier, while Robert Whittaker was defeated by Adesanya in their rematch on the same show.
He had defeated Kelvin Gastelum prior to those two losses, after consecutive defeats to Jorge Masvidal and Tyron Woodley spelled the end of his welterweight run. Masvidal has gone 1-3 since knocking out Till in London, while Woodley never won again and was cut from the UFC before being viciously knocked out by Jake Paul in boxing.
For Adesanya, his mind is currently set on Cannonier, the top contender in his division. Cannonier defeated Brunson with a vicious stoppage in the second round of their Texas meeting to earn a shot at the champion, who will likely oblige later this year.
