UFC London has taken a major blow just weeks out from the event after hometown hero Darren Till pulled out of his co-main event fight due to injury.
Till was scheduled to take on fellow top-ranked middleweight Jack Hermansson at The O2 arena on July 23, but has been replaced by Chris Curtis due to an undisclosed injury. Till was hoping to get back in the winning column after losing his past two fights at 185lb.
Since moving up to middleweight in 2019, Till has only won one fight. He outpointed former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum in his debut in the weight class, but was out-struck against Robert Whittaker in his next fight and most recently out-wrestled by Derek Brunson last September. His losing streak is a far cry from the excellent form he displayed at the start of his UFC career, going unbeaten in six fights.
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Till's replacement Curtis, who was signed to the UFC last year, steps up to face Hermansson just two weeks after outpointing multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Rodolfo Vieira. Curtis will look to extend his unbeaten streak to nine fights against Hermansson.
In a bid to improve his wrestling, 'The Gorilla' travelled to Sweden earlier this year to train with rising UFC star Khamzat Chimaev. Till, a former welterweight title challenger, had been balancing his time training at Allstars training centre in Sweden and Team Kaobon in Liverpool. Till was left bloodied up earlier this year after a debilitating wrestling session with his training partner.
"Lad, got my a*** kicked," Till told BlockAsset after the session. "That's what it's all about though innit? Getting it done." Chimaev praised Till for his willingess to learn, stating: "Work was good, nice to work with the best guys in the world. I work on the grappling and wrestling, he learn something. Next time we work on the striking, I learn something. It works like that, I am happy he is here."
Chimaev and Till have since become great friends but their UFC careers are seemingly going in different directions. Chimaev wasn't even signed by the UFC when Till last won a UFC fight, with the Chechen winning five fights since making his promotional debut.
