Darren Till isn’t above admitting that money makes the world go round.
After spending years talking about his disinterest in making a move to bare-knuckle fighting for a potential showdown against Mike Perry, the one-time UFC title challenger inked a multi-fight deal with BKFC. In the past, Till talked about how the damage absorbed by so many bare-knuckle fighters had him less than enthusiastic about trying the sport.
While studies have shown that bare-knuckle fighters actually suffer fewer major injuries and less concussions than athletes competing in MMA or boxing, the sport also delivers a lot of cosmetic damage. Fighters deal with lacerations at a much higher rate and Till was wary of getting his face sliced and diced in a bare-knuckle fight.
So what exactly changed to make Till ink a deal with BKFC?
“What changed is my bank account got a few zeroes in it,” Till said with a laugh when speaking to MMA Fighting. “The opportunity was too good to pass. David [Feldman] had been on me for a while. He spoke to my manager back and forth, he sat down with the team and said ‘Darren, look, the time is now, the offer’s really good and Darren it sort of fits your style, suits your style the way you fight.’ I’m a boxing, punch combination guy. I do hit hard. I’ve got big hands and stuff. Let’s see.
“I’ve said to everyone it would go really well but it could go badly. Who knows? I just know I’m in my prime years. I’m fit and strong. I’m in prime physical condition, especially with the team I have acquired around me. Confidence levels are really high.”
Prior to his new deal with BKFC, Till transitioned into boxing and found a lot of success competing for Misfits. He was plotting a move to bigger and better competition in that sport when BKFC came calling again with an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Now as he prepares for his debut, Till has embraced bare-knuckle fighting and done everything possible to get ready for that first fight.
“Do you know what? I’ve got one of the guys out with me that’s done 13 bare-knuckle fights so he obviously knows his way around,” Till said. “So no better person to learn from. I think in this bare-knuckle [fight] from me speaking my opinion, I think it’s a ‘f*ck you’ attitude you’ve got to have. You’re going to get hit. You’re going to get cut. It’s going to hurt. If that’s my only fear, there’s no sleepless nights. Nothing. Confidence is high.
“My only fear is getting hit, cuts, stuff like that. It’s a f*ck you attitude. F*ck you, let’s have it and what’s going to happen [is going to happen]. That’s how I’m approaching this.”
With bare-knuckle taking up his attention now and hopes to eventually capture a world title in boxing, Till still gets asked constantly about a potential return to MMA. Till left the UFC on good terms and there was a time when he was absolutely planning on an eventual return to the promotion, but that may have changed.
At 33 years old, Till understands he can’t compete forever and while he’s confident he’s still in the prime of his career, he acknowledges there’s a good chance he’s already had his final MMA fight.
“I’ve had my time in the UFC,” Till said. “I didn’t do too badly. I’ve had a good little go in Misfits. I wanted to move to the pro boxing but as I said, the offer was great. Let’s try my hand at bare-knuckle. The ultimate art, which is with your fists and it could go really well, which I think it is going to but it could go really bad. Who knows? But I do feel like I’m built for it and I don’t mind taking punishment. I don’t mind dishing it out.
“[MMA is] for the newbies now. The sport’s always evolving. So the sport’s not like when Royce Gracie was around. It’s not the sport when Cain Velasquez was around. The sport evolves. It moves on. Unless you’re in it like you see Khamzat [Chimaev] in it, just everyday grinding, it does move on from you. So probably 85 percent [MMA] is behind me to be honest with you.”
Till won’t completely shut the door on going back to MMA one day in the future, but he’s honest enough to admit it’s unlikely.
“Listen, never say never to anything in your life because you never know what life’s going to throw at you,” Till said. “Who knows, two years’ time maybe that thorn is still in me because I never achieved a world title.
“I’m from Liverpool, there’s two people who fought for a world title still yet to achieve it. I know Paddy [Piimblett] fought for the interim, I fought for the [undisputed] but yeah it’s a thorn in me. Maybe take it out and try again but it’s one of them, it would be a long road.”
As far as his future with BKFC, Till knows all roads eventually lead to that long awaited fight against Mike Perry, who he’s engaged in a war of words for years. Perry is widely recognized as the face of BKFC and the biggest star the sport has produced since he came to bare-knuckle after his UFC career ended.
BKFC actually planned for Till to debut against Perry, but the potential matchup fell apart after Perry opted to sign with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions for a fight against Nate Diaz. Perry won that fight in lopsided fashion and there’s still no word on what he has planned next.
Till can’t say for certain when that Perry fight might take place, but he’s not going anywhere else until it does.
“I’ll stay around the bare-knuckle until it happens,” Till said. “So if I have to take 10 fights to get to the Mike Perry fight, that’s what’s going to happen, isn’t it? He’s got to win all his fights and I’ve got to win all my fights to make it happen.
“Obviously, I’m coming over to his turf. He’s the ‘King of Violence.’ I’ve got to take his title from him. Hopefully by the end of this year, that fight gets made and we meet in the center and finally the beef gets squashed.”
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