Michael Bisping insists Darren Till has what it takes to become a UFC champion.
Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) almost reached the top of the mountain when he challenged Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title in 2018, but was shut out in dominant fashion.The cut to 170 pounds was starting to take a toll on Till, prompting the popular scouser to move up to middleweight after he suffered a knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal in March 2019.
After a successful divisional debut against Kelvin Gastelum, Till struggled by dropping two straight to Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson. But Bisping, the U.K.’s first UFC champion, hasn’t given up on him.
“Darren Till – you’re laughing at me because he’s 1-3 in his last four – Darren Till will be champion one day,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “His striking is phenomenal. His mind is strong. He’s just had a bit of a bad run. And again, 29 years old. He’ll be champ.”
Till, who’s currently healing from a leg injury, provided a positive update in which he expressed his desire to fight twice in 2022. But Bisping doesn’t only see championship potential in Till. He also really likes his teammate Tom Aspinall’s chances, despite his recent setback to Curtis Blaydes in July.
“People seem to think I’m salty that Leon (Edwards) won,” Bisping said. “I am over the goddamn moon for Leon, and I support every fighter from the U.K. Of course I wasn’t going to be the first and only one. We’re going to have a slew of champions coming from the U.K. Tom Aspinall, as we know, sadly really hurt his leg. But Tom will be champion. He will be back. He’s going to rehab, he’s going to have the surgery, he’s going to be coming back six months, nine months, maybe a year. But he’s only 29 years old and he will be champion of the heavyweight division – make no mistake. Mark my words.”
