Darren Till: 'Striking-wise, he ain’t even close to my level'

Darren 'The Gorilla' Till stapt dit weekend de UFC-octagon in voor een gevecht met voormalig UFC Middengewichtkampioen Robert 'The Reaper' Whittaker. De twee verzorgen het Main Event van UFC on ESPN 14 en sluiten hiermee UFC Fight Island, voorlopig, af. Till erkent de sterke eigenschappen van Whittaker maar striking-wise is hij de betere.

Striking
Tijdens de UFC on ESPN 14 media scrum laat Till weten dat Whittakers eigenschappen omtrent worstelen en jiu-jtsu beter zijn dan die van hem, maar dat hij weer beter is in striking. 

“Of course he should say that and I should say the opposite, that I’m better everywhere'', zegt Till. “But I’m not like that. I think Rob is potentially, probably more of a seasoned wrestler, a little bit better in that department. Jiu-jitsu-wise, I don’t know. Striking-wise, he ain’t even close to the level, but I’m saying that and he could come in and show me something new and, ‘Pom, pom,’ and that’s how it is. He’s meant to say that. Would you expect him to say anything else?”

Onderschatten
Till zal Whittaker niet onderschatten en bouwt The Reaper zelfs nog meer op om zichzelf meer te motiveren.

“I think from me, from an individual point of view, I do everything I can in my power in the gym and in life to put myself, even though I’m prepared 100 percent, put myself a little down and say  I'm under Rob and look at him as everything, as the beast I have to conquer. I don’t know how I can explain it best, but I just like to think of Rob as better than me. That’s it.”

Titel
The Gorilla gebruikt zichzelf als voorbeeld voor jonge vechters om de gevaarlijke gevechten wel aan te nemen. Till denkt dat hij via een overwinning over Whittaker kan vechten voor de UFC Middengewichttitel.

“Yes, of course. If I beat Robert Whittaker Saturday night, the only way to go is to the title. I’ve come to middleweight and a lot of people say he’s only had two fights, but look at my two fights. This is why for every young fighter out there, or for every fighter in the UFC who sometimes may turn down fights, you have to take these big risks because it will pay off. I didn’t campaign for a title shot after I beat Stephan Thompson in Liverpool. I didn’t quite feel I deserved it. But, now if I beat Robert Whittaker, Saturday, which is a big ask and a big mountain to climb, the only fight for me is I say, Adesanya and Costa are scheduled to fight, the only fight for me is a title fight.”

UFC on ESPN 14: Whittaker vs. Till, 25 juli 2020, UFC Fight Island, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

Main Card | 02.00u via SBS 9, KIJK.nl & UFC Fight Pass
Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till | Middengewicht
Mauricio Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira 3 | Lichtzwaargewicht
Fabricio Werdum vs. Alexander Gustafsson | Zwaargewicht
Carla Esparza vs. Marina Rodriguez | Vrouwen Strogewicht
Paul Craig vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov | Lichtzwaargewicht
Alex Oliveira vs. Peter Sobotta | Weltergewicht
Khamzat Chimaev vs. Rhys Mckee | Weltergewicht

Preliminary Card | 23.00u via UFC Fight Pass
Francisco Trinaldo vs. Jai Herbert | Lichtgewicht
Nicolas Dalby vs. Jesse Ronson | Weltergewicht
Tom Aspinall vs. Jake Collier | Zwaargewicht
Movsar Evloev vs. Mike Grundy | Vedergewicht
Tanner Boser vs. Raphael Pessoa | Zwaargewicht
Bethe Correia vs. Pannie Kianzad | Vrouwen Bamtamgewicht
Ramazan Emeev vs. Niklas Stolze | Weltergewicht
Nathaniel Wood vs. John Castaneda | Bantamgewicht