Darren Till has laid out his plan to fight Israel Adesanya for the UFC middleweight title in England.
Till, 29, fights for the first time in over a year this Saturday against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 282 in Las Vegas. The former welterweight title challenger is in desperate need of a win having lost four of his past five fights, with his most recent defeat coming to Derek Brunson last September.
'The Gorilla' is still ranked at 185lb despite his poor run of form and is hoping a win against Du Plessis can progress him further up the rankings. Till has been calling for a fight against Adesanya for years and with 'Stylebender' losing his UFC title to Alex Pereira last month, the Liverpudlian thinks it's inevitable the pair will eventually meet in the octagon.
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"I feel like it’ll be the best striker against the best striker, I still truly believe that I’m one of the best strikers in the UFC and I know he is too," Till told Mirror Fighting about a fight against Adesanya. "It’s a dream matchup, obviously it’d be good for him to have the belt and get it at Wembley or Anfield. I’ve got to bide my time though, I’m on the ladder at the bottom and I’m just working my way back up."
Till was once backed to be the next British UFC star following Michael Bisping's title win in 2016, but injuries and frequent losses have prevented him from fulfilling that praise. Insisting that fans have forgotten how good he is, Till has promised to remind everyone of his abilities against Du Plessis.
"I don’t like to bring excuses up but my body was absolutely f****d for my last fight and I couldn’t even train for it. The way I looked was s***, but the fight before that was against in my opinion the best middleweight on the planet [Robert Whittaker]. I played with him for four rounds and then he pulled it out of the bag, fair play to him," Till added.
"Before that, I beat [Kelvin] Gastelum who at the time was the second best middleweight. People forget quick, but then when you win and win again you’re the best thing since sliced bread. I don’t really give a s*** [what fans think] I just want to fight and do what I set out to achieve which is win the belt, and I will achieve it".
