One of the more popular fighters in the UFC has been granted his release. Middleweight contender and former welterweight title challenger Darren “The Gorilla” Till (18-5-1) was granted his release from the promotion yesterday.
Rumors started flying when it was noticed that Till was removed from the roster and the rankings. Till posted on Twitter to clarify that he requested his release from the UFC to sort some things out. He assured his fans that he’s still on good terms with Dana White and Hunter Campbell.
Till soared to the top of the promotion when he made his debut. He was rushed to a title shot against Tyron Woodley and clearly looked like he wasn’t ready for that moment. Till was submitted by Woodley and hasn’t been in title contention since.
Will Till make it back to the UFC?
Following the title loss to Woodley, Till was knocked out by Jorge Masvidal. He then moved to middleweight and went 1-3 in that division. Till just wasn’t able to get going in the middleweight division and never looked like the guy we saw when he first debuted with the promotion.
He also dealt with a number of injuries that kept him out of action. Time will tell what comes next for Till, but I think he will eventually make his way back to the UFC. He’s a big enough name and Dana White has always been a fan of Till.
I think it might take a win or two outside of the promotion or just a good amount of time away to focus on training, but I think he’ll be back just as he said.