Darren Till is eager to fight Mike Perry, despite their past verbal exchanges and sparring history, and is open to a boxing match before considering a bare-knuckle fight, while he also contemplates a return to MMA after transitioning to professional boxing.
For all the potential matchups Darren Till could have, one question never seems to go away: when will he fight Mike Perry? The two have exchanged plenty of verbal jabs, both online and in interviews, yet a fight remains unscheduled. Till wants to change that but admits some details still need ironing out.
“I think we both want to fight,” Till told MMA Fighting. “But his manager’s giving me a hard time. Malki, sort your stuff out, mate! It’s bound to happen eventually, given we’re always around. They’ve offered me decent money. Is it enough? Not sure.”
Till is keen to make the fight happen by the year’s end, but weight issues need resolving first. “I’m the bigger guy, and he knows it,” Till said. Their history goes beyond words; they’ve sparred before, adding fuel to the fire.
“I’ve never really talked about our sparring, but I got the better of him,” Till claimed. “I’d love to fight him. He’s a good guy, a family man, made a lot of money. I’m not a hater.”
Perry’s promoters at BKFC offered Till a lucrative bare-knuckle fight, but Till isn’t thrilled about that. “I’m half decent looking,” he joked. “I’ve had my share of fistfights, but I’d rather not mess up my face. If we box first, then maybe bare-knuckle.”
Till’s two-fight proposal includes boxing and bare-knuckle. But what about MMA, the sport that made them stars? Before his boxing match against Darren Stewart, Till and Perry were UFC regulars. Fans keep asking Till about returning to MMA.
“I’m quiet, I don’t go to shows,” Till said. “But people stop me every day asking when I’m going back to MMA. Did I have that much impact? I guess so, people still love me despite my losses.”
He left the UFC after three losses but hasn’t ruled out a return. Till enjoys boxing but always keeps MMA in mind, hoping for a UFC reunion someday. “I train hard,” Till said. “Maybe too hard. It just depends on the fight. I want to go back.”
Despite past losses, Till knows he can still compete with the best in the UFC, especially in striking. “No one beat me on the feet, except Masvidal,” Till said. “Striking’s my thing. If you want to strike with me, you better be good.”