Mike Perry’s and Darren Till’s desire to fight one another went back four years until those plans suffered a likely fatal blow in 2021 when Perry parted ways with the UFC.
The year was 2017. Mike Perry and Darren Till had a combined UFC record of 8-1 entering the month of December, and the two men’s fan bases were continuing to grow.
What was also growing in popularity was the idea of the two welterweights fighting one another. As much as many fans wanted to see the fight, it was Perry and Till who have always lobbied for it the hardest.
Perry and Till’s banter would continue for years, and the two constantly flirted with fighting one another. During the Christmas season in 2018, Perry was coming off a loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio while Till defeated Donald Cerrone earlier that year.
Despite their most recent outcomes at the time, Perry decided to shoot his shot with the following Christmas wish and birthday message.
“#HappyBirthday @darrentill2 and #MerryChristmas, for a gift I’d like to give you a contract with my name on it,” Perry wrote to Till on Twitter this Christmas Eve, which was also the Liverpudlian’s 24th birthday. “We’ll make it happen. Until then don’t lose that 0 and remember nobody wants to stand and fight you like I do,” Perry posted on Christmas Eve 2017.
With no fight planned for Till at the time following his victory over Cerrone on the headlining bout of UFC Fight Night 118 in Poland, Perry looked set to square off with the Brit. Having slipped to a unanimous decision defeat to Ponzinibbio at UFC on FOX 26, “Platinum” could be forgiven for believing that he may have lost out on that bout.
Till, however, offered some very encouraging words in his response to Perry, which was music to the ears of the then-26-year-old Perry:
“Thanks for the well wishes… same to you!! The 0 is staying don’t worry about that… and yes I’ll sign it! Let’s go to f**king war if that’s what you want! Rankings and losses mean f**k all to me!!!
Since this exchange took place, the combined record of Till and Perry went on to be 5-10. Today, Till no longer competes in the UFC’s welterweight division, and Perry no longer competes in the UFC at all and recently signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.
Unless Mike Perry makes his UFC return someday or he and Till finally compete against one another in a Triller event in the distant future, then this is one Christmas wish that will likely go down as unfulfilled.
Is Darren Till vs. Mike Perry the Christmas gift that got away for MMA fans, or were you among those who were uninterested in this fight taking place?
