After pursuing him for years, Darren Till finally inked a multi-fight deal to join the roster at BKFC with plans to face Mike Perry in his debut.
The former UFC fighters had engaged in a back-and-forth war of words with Perry challenging Till to face him in a bare-knuckle fight and Till countering with an offer to meet up in boxing instead. But when Till finally came to terms with BKFC, the entire idea was that he would finally get the chance to throw hands with Perry.
Unfortunately, those plans went awry when Perry signed to face Nate Diaz in an MMA fight on the upcoming Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card on May 16.
“That was the original plan,” Till told MMA Fighting about facing Perry in his first BKFC fight. “So if Mike comes back, that still has to be the plan. That fight is eight years in the making. Yeah, it’s got to be done. Me and Mike have to fight.
“Maybe we fight in the Echo [Arena] in Liverpool, or we do the Anfield Stadium. It could be a stadium fight. It’s a massive fight, it really is.”
It’s been five years since Perry or Diaz competed in MMA, but that matchup is arguably the most anticipated fight on the entire card. Considering Rousey hasn’t fought in 10 years, and Carano’s been out of action for 17 years, it’s understandable why it’s tough to predict what might happen in the main event.
Francis Ngannou is also on the card, but he’s a massive favorite in his fight against fellow UFC veteran Philipe Lins.
Meanwhile, Perry and Diaz are both known as all-action fighters with aggressive styles that almost guarantee an exciting matchup for as long as it lasts.
But Till doesn’t expect much from that fight, especially after seeing Perry and Diaz attempt to promote the matchup in the lead-up to the show on May 16 on Netflix.
“It’s just a mongoloid fight, isn’t it?” Till said about Perry vs. Diaz. “Just a pair of f*cking Teletubbies fighting each other. Nate Diaz can’t string a sentence together, neither can Mike. It’s trash. American trash. Just trash.
“Everyone on that card is trash, actually. In fact, it’s a full card of mongoloids. Trash.”
Obviously, Till doesn’t think too much about the event that Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotion has put together, but he revealed that there was a brief attempt to potentially book him on the card as well.
Talks never got far, but Till has nothing bad to say about MVP, although his dream fight was a boxing match against Paul rather than a return to MMA.
“MVP were chatting to my manager,” Till said. “I think they were in touch. I was obviously interested in fighting Jake. Jake’s got other plans in life. If that fight ever one day arises, then yeah, it’s there. But they reached out, nothing came to terms. Got nothing bad to say about them, to be honest with you. Nakisa [Bidarian] seems like a cool guy. Hopefully, one day we do business.
“As I said, I’ve got many offers, and I’ve got many plays on the table. I’m good with Misfits. I’m good with [BKFC]. I think I’m still good with the UFC, even after I gave Dana [White] a load of shit the other day. But we’ll see.”
While he doesn’t have much nice to say about the fight between Perry and Diaz, he can’t fault them for seeking out a big payday to make it happen.
Till admits money was the deciding factor for him to crossover to bare-knuckle fighting, so he understands why Perry would take a hiatus from BKFC to cash a massive check to face Diaz instead.
“I do slight Mike Perry a lot [but] if he’s going to make a lot of money there on MVP with Nate Diaz, props to them,” Till said. “But I don’t hate Nate. I don’t hate Mike. I give them shit, but if they’re making a lot of money, I have to give all respect and kudos, too.”
Till has never shied away from giving his opinion, and that includes how he feels about the Rousey vs. Carano card. That will undoubtedly draw some strong reactions, but it’s nothing new for Till.
Some people might agree with his take, others may vehemently disagree, but Till isn’t losing sleep over what anybody thinks about him or what he says.
“Look, I don’t give a f*ck,” Till said. “I’m going to speak my mind, and people can take it however they want it. I don’t care about it. No one’s [above it] or anything like that. My ego’s been hurt enough. I’ve been knocked out in front of millions. Imagine how I feel!”
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