Robert Whittaker and Darren Till have detailed their mental health struggles.
Whittaker and Till are set to collide on July 25 in a pivotal middleweight matchup. “The Reaper” is hoping to rebound from his Oct. 2019 UFC middleweight title loss to Israel Adesanya. As for Till, he wants to win his second bout in a row and a victory of this magnitude could lead to a title opportunity.
Robert Whittaker & Darren Till Discuss Mental Health Issues
Tom Taylor of Bleacher Report spoke to Whittaker and Till on mental health issues they have experienced. First, Whittaker talked about dealing with these problems after his rematch with Yoel Romero and his title loss to Adesanya.
“I have trials and tribulations. I kind of thought that I’d get through this with nothing: don’t worry about it, ignore it, push it to the side, get through it. Then you do that for six months, a year, a year-and-a-half. It just eats at you. It’s like the ocean. It just weathers the storm.”
Whittaker admitted that he had trouble figuring out his next route after the loss to Adesanya. One positive for Whittaker, however, is that the weight of being a champion was off his shoulders and he was able to rest and clear up his mind.
As for Till, he also admits that he had dealt with personal demons that he’s had to overcome. One of them is the fear of fighting, despite being a high-level competitor in the UFC.
“I believe we all do have demons and mountains to climb, mostly inside our own heads,” he said. “Every single individual, whether they say it or not, is trying to conquer something inside their head and trying to overcome something, whether it be fear or whatever. They’re all on their own path, their own journey. It’s all individual experiences.”
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