Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier believes that the upcoming clash against Dricus du Plessis is a make-or-break fight for Darren Till.
Daniel Cormier believes that Darren Till needs to secure victory at UFC 282 in order to maintain his place in the championship conversation. Saturday’s card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas features a fight between Till and Dricus Du Plessis. The last four of Till’s last five matches have ended in defeat, but he has done so against opponents competing at the highest level. However, Daniel Cormier believes that the upcoming clash against Dricus du Plessis is a make-or-break fight for Darren Till.
The way Cormier sees it, Till has experience facing the best in the game. It’s all about unlocking his maximum potential and coming back to his old vicious and fearless ways:
“Darren Till was at one point fighting for the welterweight championship of the world, went up to 185, fought Robert Whittaker in a very competitive fight, and we know how good Robert Whittaker is, but we need to see consistency. People still recognize him and honestly, before Leon Edwards became the champ, Till was still the most popular English fighter because he’s recognizable and he’s got a big personality. He’s a character, but the reality is, the character only gets you so far. You’ve got to win fights.”
Till’s path to resurgence begins this Saturday night. Failing to do so will backtrack his career and put him in a tight spot. At the Allstars Training Center in Sweden, Till has been working out with the undefeated star Khamzat Chimaev in an effort to enforce some positive changes. Till will be facing a dangerous finisher in the fight against Du Plessis, and Cormier believes that in order to regain his momentum, Till will need to have an outstanding performance.
“Darren Till’s got that skillset, he’s training out of Sweden now with those guys like Khamzat and Andreas Michael and the whole team at Allstars MMA,” Cormier added in a recent episode of the DC & RC Show. “He has to implement what they teach and has to do it in a way that reminds everyone who Darren Till is and was between 170 and 185. He’s still young enough to make another run towards a championship opportunity. But it all starts Saturday, and if he can’t get past Du Plessis, it might be over for the time being for Till, but it would skyrocket Dricus up the rankings into very, very important fights.”
Former UFC simultaneous two-division champion Daniel Cormier has backed Glover Teixeira for deciding to turn down a last-minute fight against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 282. Jiri Prochazka was supposed to defend his title against Glover Teixeira at UFC 282 on December 10 in Las Vegas. He posted on Instagram that he was giving up the title because he had injured his shoulder while training for the Teixeira fight. Prochazka claims he needs surgery and will be out for at least six months, with recovery taking more than a year.
The UFC offered Glover Teixeira a fight against surging contender Magomed Ankalaev for the now-vacant light heavyweight throne, but the Brazilian declined. Teixeira wanted time to prepare for the completely different stylistic matchup, however, the UFC could not hold back the division.
Speaking in a recent episode of the DC & RC show on ESPN, Daniel Cormier voiced his support for Teixeira:
“I believe that, honestly, I would do the same thing if I was Glover. It’s different. When I was fighting, they told me, as the champ, would you fight Derrick Lewis on three weeks’ notice? Knowing the matchup, I said, sure. Stipe Miocic, I would not have fought on three weeks’ notice, because it’s a different matchup. When I had to fight [Anthony] ‘Rumble’ Johnson for the vacant title, God rest his soul, sure, I’ll fight ‘Rumble’ Johnson. When they said Dan Henderson on a few weeks’ — six weeks, five weeks, whatever, I wasn’t in camp — sure, because I know the matchup.”
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