Darren Till has been doing just fine in his combat sports career without the UFC. But that doesn’t mean he believes the UFC’s been the same since his 2022 departure.
Speaking Tuesday on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” the former welterweight and middleweight contender went off on UFC CEO Dana White for a perceived lack of passion in recent years. Till highlighted White’s flippant demeanor in recent appearances as a key indicator of what’s ultimately bogged down the product he was once a part of.
“I do like Dana, but I just think Dana’s ego is getting a little bit too much out of control. I think he’s totally switched off from UFC,” Till told Uncrowned. “I don’t even watch the UFC no more, really. I couldn’t tell you half the people who fight on it. The events just aren’t juicy no more. I think they’ve got very few stars left. And I’m pissed off, to be honest, with the media side of things. Every time Dana’s in a scrum, it’s like these reporters are scared to say the real thing. When they do ask questions, Dana’s all sort of like, ‘Who gives a s***?’
“We give a s***. I give a s***. So give us a f***ing answer, baldy. Take your ego away. I’m sorry to slag him, because I’ll go on one now, but I give a s***. What do you mean, ‘Who gives a s***?’ We give a s***, so give us some f***ing answers.”
Till, 33, has been one of combat’s more outspoken personalities since first rising to prominence in 2017. But as a former MMA fighter-turned-boxer — and now bare-knuckle boxer after signing with BKFC — the Liverpudlian wants to see all the nonsense end.
Take, for example, the new dynamic between White and Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn. The two promoters have grown increasingly hostile since White entered the boxing world Hearn has long called home. It’s become a heated enough that a boxing match between the 56-year-old White and 46-year-old Hearn has become a real discussion, with actual multi-million-dollar offers being issued from outside parties, according to both men.
“It just annoys me, it’s just too much ego,” Till said. “It’s like, as a fighter, sometimes you’d have the fighter’s friend talking s*** to ya. But you can’t fight — why are you talking? You’ll get your jaw snapped. The fighters should be fighting. It’s like the managers when they’re arguing — have you seen the state of half of these managers? They all just look like potatoes, and they’re all arguing like they’re about that life. You just do your jobs and sign contracts, you f***ing morons. Let the fighters fight. It pisses me off.
“Then Eddie and Dana are talking about this ‘biggest fight.’ You’re about 50, you’re about 50 — it’s not a big fight. For starters, you just can’t fight, and for two, what [do] you mean ‘this big fight?’ You’re just a pair of numpty, egotistical c***s. It winds me up.”
One of Till’s bigger qualms with the current state of the UFC extends to the promotion the company does — or doesn’t do — for its event. His mention of White asking, “Who gives a s***?” contextually centered around White’s response to the UFC’s use of artificial intelligence in promotional packages — such as its recent UFC White House trailer.
For Till, promo packages are a big deal that fuel his motivation before every fight. With his BKFC debut against Aaron Chalmers coming up at BKFC 90 on May 30, he’s aiming to create one of the most impressive hype packages of the year.
“Where’s all the promos gone?” Till asked of the UFC. “The Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey [one] where they had Ludovico [Einaudi], the classical music behind it. And we watched Ronda Rousey grow in judo, lose in the Olympics. We watched Holly Holm. Where’s the Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier [promo video] where they’re fighting demons? Where have they gone? Because you know when I’m running on the treadmill and I need a bit of motivation, I watch that s*** and then I play my own promos.
“Where’s all that gone? Where’s the Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor promo gone? Where’s it all gone? And [White] sat there going, ‘Who gives a s***?’ But we give a s***, you fat herp. We give a s***. … AI’s a load of s***, it’s just bulls***.”
To an extent, Till was the Paddy Pimblett before Paddy Pimblett in the UFC — a brash, outspoken Liverpool native with a penchant for highlights. Specifically in England, Till’s appearances were must-see viewing for his grand “Sweet Caroline” walkouts alone.
Those days are long gone, believes Till. That fact couldn’t have been more evident than when UFC stopped through London in March, he says — and he pins the blame on White.
“The UFC has gone to s*** a bit. I’m not happy with it. There’s just nothing there,” Till said.
“I’m sorry to say, the last London event was just f***ing disastrous. The London events when [Michael] Bisping fought, mate — I got knocked out again in London [in 2019], but the atmosphere for that was electric. Like, bar me getting knocked out, the atmosphere was electric. The fight was even good with [Jorge] Masvidal. [UFC] ain’t got that no more. It just hasn’t got that. Do you know what I mean? There’s no life in it. … It means more when the promoter’s behind it and has passion. Dana’s just lost his mojo.”
Having been a part of some of the UFC’s biggest events throughout his run from 2017-22, Till longs for the days of old from a fan perspective.
Another example he mentioned is the UFC’s upcoming White House event on June 14. It received plenty of hype from White — until the lineup’s reveal. Anticipated to be one of the most stacked cards of all time, it fell short of community expectations, hosting only six fights before a late seventh addition in the form of Josh Hokit vs. Derrick Lewis.
Till is in the same boat as those disappointed.
“I look at the card, and it just doesn’t get my juices flowing like the way the other [old] cards [did],” Till said. “The reason the UFC caught up to boxing is because back in the day, you had co-main events like Robbie Lawler [vs.] Rory MacDonald, Conor McGregor, Jose Aldo. The Madison Square Garden fight they done — [UFC] 205 — just the fights back then, they just had a different thing to them. And I just look at the White House now, and I just think, a load of s***.
“I’m not saying anything against them, but Ilia Topuria, Justin Gaethje, just doesn’t interest me. I’m sorry. … Gaethje’s been beat a thousand times. Am I a fan? I f***ing love the guy to bits. I think he’s one of the best fighters ever. I just don’t want to see Ilia Topuria fight Gaethje. I want to see Ilia Topuria fight Islam Makhachev or one of the others. I don’t want to see that. It’s just s***.”
