Darren Till won’t fight at UFC Fight Night 208, and now he won’t serve as a cornerman either.
The wheels were in motion to corner Chris Curtis, the fighter who replaced him on the card, but Till changed his mind. Till originally agreed to make the walk with Curtis for his bout vs. Jack Hermansson, but on Thursday he revealed he’s decided not to as it would be “disrespectful.”
“I won’t be cornering Chris this weekend at UFC London, I feel it would be disrespectful to the whole situation after pulling out of the fight to then turn up to the corner of the fight,” Till wrote in a statement on Twitter. “I wish Chris the best of luck he’s a proper guy & we trained together & he can do good things, I also wish Jack the best of luck may both men have a good fight. I also look forward to hearing what all the couch potato’s [sic] have to comment below this post I’ll be reading and laughing.”
Till also shed light on his recurring injury situation. Five of his most recent six fight bookings have been canceled, including UFC Fight Night 208. The majority of the cancellations were due to Till injuries.
“To the people that messaged me saying keep my head up etc. it’s massively appreciated but the only problem right now is that my body is brittle through years of hard torment day in day out to the body. I need to take a more controlled relaxed approach in the next 10 years! Good luck to all fighting at UFC London, I would be lying if I didn’t say I’m sat here absolutely jealous to f*ck. But seriously go smash it & reach the top where you are all meant to be. THE HYPE AROUND UFC LONDON IS REAL! Blockasset in the house, wait till you see blockasset name on the canvas of UFC next year, then you’ll know sh*ts real. I hope everyone has a good weekend, gets smashed, & has a sick time.”
— D (@darrentill2) July 21, 2022
Curtis, who voiced excitement about Till as a cornerman Wednesday during media day, expressed his understanding in an interview Thursday. Curtis said he still plans on walking out to Till’s signature walkout song, “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond – a London crowd favorite.
Chris Curtis keeping Sweet Caroline as his walkout song despite Darren Till not being there. Full interview coming upon @Eurosport_NL pic.twitter.com/u2GTynOAWD
— KROMHAAN (@DennisKornman) July 21, 2022
Till, 29, has competed only once since July 2020. He’s 1-4 in his most recent five appearances with losses to Tyron Woodley, Jorge Masvidal, Robert Whittaker, and Derek Brunson – and a win against Kelvin Gastelum.
