Darren Till has announced he has requested he be released from the UFC - but vowed to return in the future.
Till has lost his last three fights, and five of his last six, to slip out of title contention having previously challenged for the welterweight crown. And the Brit has now confirmed he asked to be removed from the UFC roster.
"Me, Dana [White] and Hunter [Campbell] are still cool as f***," he tweeted. "I asked UFC to remove me just to sort some other s*** for the foreseeable, They happily agreed to release me out of contract which I appreciate. I’m not going anywhere, got big plans to execute and I’ll be back."
Till earned a title shot against then champion Tyron Woodley in 2018 following a four-fight win streak in the promotion. But he was choked out in the second round before going on to be brutally knocked out by Jorge Masvidal the following year.
Till returned to winning ways by outpointing Kelvin Gastelum as he moved up to middleweight but was then on the wrong end of a decision against Robert Whittaker. The Liverpudlian then suffered successive submission defeats by Derek Brunson and Dricus du Plessis.
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Till admitted after his most recent defeat that he was planning to take time out of the cage. "You don’t always get what you want in this life, it’s tough," he said. "I’m 29 now, I’ve been at the top of the sport since 2017, and I entered in the UFC in 2015. I’m doing this video now because I feel like it’s the right time.
“I’m not retiring, this is not a retirement speech. I’m 29, that would be stupid to retire. But I’m on a bit of a losing skid at the moment, I’m not finding my right ways and stuff like that. It’s crazy because when I’m in the gym and I’m sparring with the best guys in the world, I’m in my element and when I step into the Octagon, I can’t seem to put things together."
