Fans fear Darren Till could pull out of his UFC comeback fight against Dricus Du Plessis after showing off a worrying eye injury.
Till hasn't fought since his defeat by Derek Brunson last year and has been scheduled to make a comeback on multiple occasions. However his return has yet to come to fruition with Till withdrawing from his bout with Marvin Vettori in March, before being forced to abandon his plans to face Jack Hermansson four months later.
Now with just a matter of weeks until Till's next outing at UFC 282 against Du Plessis on December 10, fans are hoping he can return to action without any hiccups as he looks to try and revive his UFC career. But the Liverpudlian has sparked worry amongst the MMA world, having posted a nasty looking image of his eye being bloodshot and bruised, with the caption: " Solid days work today with the boys."
He later added an image of himself on his Instagram story, which appeared to show the eye having bruised even more since sustaining the damage. Fans were quick to immediately react to the post, with one writing: "Believe it once they're in the cage and the door closes, until then it is a Till fight, it is not happening."
Another agreed: "He is going to pull out again. When does the UFC say enough and cut him? I mean this ridiculous at this point." A fan also added a similar claim: "He’s definitely pulling out again. I bet he gets cut this time." A fan was more joking about the injury, writing: "I don't think you saw eye to eye with your sparring partner."
Despite fans' claims Till could be taken from the roster if he is to once again miss out on his opportunity to return, the Liverpudlian confirmed he signed a new deal with the UFC earlier this year despite his lack of activity. Till has lost four of his last five fights, with his last win coming in 2019 against Kelvin Gastelum which was followed by back-to-back losses against Robert Whittaker and Brunson.
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For now Till looks set to make his comeback against Du Plessis as he looks to begin a turnaround of his recent decline in form. And UFC legend Chael Sonnen believes Till may be best suited to returning in three-round fights before he returns to the top level. "Now I have my own opinion, I believe five rounds messes with Darren Till's head," Sonnen suggested when assessing Till's future on his YouTube channel.
"The five-round club is very rare, and I think we take it for granted. He had his mind on five other things. I'm tired, how's this weight class, who's my next opponent, what's gonna happen from here. He was distracted, and he put on what I believe was his best performance. Being distracted is very helpful for certain guys."
