Derek Brunson has dispensed some honest advice to Darren Till after defeating the Englishman, suggesting he should consider returning to the 170-pound division.
Brunson is now on a five-fight win streak after earning a third-round submission victory over Till at UFC Vegas 36 on Saturday. The win places the #5-ranked middleweight one step closer to a rematch with champion Israel Adesanya, who delivered Brunson his last loss in 2018.
For Till, the defeat to Brunson was his fourth in five fights and marks perhaps his biggest career slump. The 28-year-old debuted as a middleweight in late 2019, earning a split decision victory over former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. Since then, however, Till’s middleweight journey has hit a few speed bumps, including losing a close decision to former champ Robert Whittaker in July last year.
Derek Brunson Says He “Feels Bad” For Till, Offers Advice
So at 1-2 as a middleweight, is it time for Darren Till to consider possibly moving back down to the welterweight division? After all, Till was undefeated as a 170 pounder until challenging Tyron Woodley for the title in 2018. He was, however, knocked out cold by Jorge Masvidal in his next fight.
One man who thinks Till should consider the move is Derek Brunson. At the UFC Vegas 36 post-fight press conference, the 37-year-old paid homage to his felled opponent and offered his sincere advice.
“I feel bad for Till. I actually like the guy. I feel he’s like a badass kid, says edgy things on Twitter, Instagram, but I think overall, he’s a good person. He’s really witty, really funny. So yeah, I think (if) the guy can pull it together…it’s small things. He’s really explosive, really good on the feet, he has really good feints, very confident. It’s just the small things that he needs to adjust, even maybe thinking about 170 or just maybe fine-tuning some of the wrestling things and some of the defenses. Because if he’s able to keep it on the feet, he could do a lot better,” said Brunson.
What do you think? Should Darren Till consider moving back down to welterweight?
