Anthony Smith doesn’t think Darren Till should face ranked opposition in his next bout.
Till was submitted by Dricus Du Plessis in Round 3 this past Saturday at UFC 282 and is now 1-5 in his past six fights. Although Du Plessis can be viewed as a step down from the likes of former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and top contender Derek Brunson, the South African finisher is unbeaten in the octagon.
Smith didn’t specify whom he’d like to see Till (18-5-1 MMA, 6-5-1 UFC) fight next, but he doesn’t think it should come against elite-level competition.
“He’s got to, and he’s not gonna want to, but he’s gonna have to back way up, and he’s gonna have to give someone way down in the rankings an opportunity,” Smith said on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast. “Which he doesn’t want to do. He doesn’t want to do that because he wants to continue to climb, he wants to swing for the fences and get his spot back and look ahead.
“But I think the best case scenario for him is to drop way down and give one of these up-and-comers, these young guys, these unknowns, give them an opportunity to face a big-name guy that holds a decent spot in the rankings and hope that you can use that step down in competition as an opportunity to get your mojo back. The flip side of that is you drop one to one of those guys, you’ve got a big f*cking problem.”
Till did appear discouraged when he released a statement post fight but vowed he was not done with the sport. UFC president Dana White doesn’t think Till’s stock dropped after his Fight of the Night effort against Du Plessis, but the 29-year-old plans on taking some time off to recalibrate.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 282.
