English mixed martial artist Darren Till is targeting another top-five opponent after his successful middleweight debut at UFC 244.
Till, a former welterweight contender, appeared on his first middleweight bout opposite Kelvin Gastelum in the co-headliner of the New York fight card last weekend.
‘The Gorilla’ was looking to make a fresh start in his UFC stint, following two consecutive brutal losses at 170 pounds.
After starting his UFC career on an emphatic five-fight winning run, Till suffered a second-round submission to Tyron Woodley in his first title fight before getting knocked out by Jorge Masvidal in front of his supporters at UFC London.
Marching as the underdog, the Liverpudlian was able to defy the odds after a three-round battle as he came out with a split decision win against Gastelum.
For his next middleweight fight, Till wants to take on the veteran and ripped fighter, Yoel Romero.
“Let’s go, @yoelromeromma,” he called out the Cuban middleweight.
Silencing The Naysayers
Till, now 6-2 in the UFC and and 18-2-1 overall, has breached the top five rankings after his UFC 244 win and is seeking to make more impact in the middleweight class.
“I felt invincible before the Woodley fight, to come off two devastating losses and move up, and fight the bulldozer of middleweight division … it was a close fight that could’ve gone either way,” he said in the post-fight Octagon interview.”
“I proved a lot of the doubters wrong and I want youse [sic] to message me tonight and see my reply, ‘F*** youse’.”
“I just got off a flight two days ago, but I felt kelvin was little bit stronger. I think these guys are gonna have a little bit more strength on me.”
“I just wanna build myself back up, stay humble and cocky at the same time. So f*** all them doubters again.”
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Gunning For Title Shot
Meanwhile, Romero is currently campaigning for a title fight against the current middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya.
Despite going 1-3 in his past four outings, Romero has retained his place in the official rankings at third spot.
With the top candidate for title shot in Paulo Costa sitting out for eight months due to bicep injury, Adesanya has welcomed a potential showdown with the ‘Soldier of God.’
But UFC president Dana White stressed that Romero needs to win a fight first before he can challenge the undisputed champ.
“[Adesanya] wants to fight Yoel Romero. He wants Romero.”
“So we’re talking about giving Romero a fight coming up soon here and then (Adesanya) will fight the winner of that fight,” White told Adam’s Apple, per MMA Fighting.
For Romero, fighting Darren Till next could be a worthy move but he needs to come out with a win to earn the next title shot.
(Featured Image Source: Instagram/ Darren Till and Yoel Romero)