UFC 228: Darren Till at 'tipping point' against Tyron Woodley - Dana White
Last updated on .From the section Mixed Martial Arts
| Woodley v Till |
|---|
| Venue: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas Date: Sunday, 9 September Time: Commentary from 04:35 BST |
| Coverage: BBC Radio 5 live commentary and BBC Sport website live-text service |
Darren Till's fight against Tyron Woodley could be the "tipping point" for his career, says Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White.
Till, 25, will aim to become Britain's second UFC world champion by beating American Woodley in the early hours of Sunday UK time in Dallas, USA.
"I knew a long time ago that this guy would be a big star if he could win the big fight," said White.
Liverpudlian Till goes into the fight unbeaten in 18 MMA contests.
"He is a very unique individual," added White. "First of all, to be undefeated in this sport is unbelievable. Then to have personality - that's just a home run."
- Is Till the next big thing in the UFC?
- Till hopes to end 15 years of waiting against Woodley
- 'Everyone's getting a pic' - behind the scenes at UFC 228 with Till
- The BBC MMA show: Till v Woodley preview
Till goes into the bout against 36-year-old Woodley at UFC 228 with the chance to emulate Michael Bisping in bringing a world title back to Britain.
A run of four wins in a row has developed his reputation, and a back story which includes him being stabbed twice before leaving the country for Brazil at the age of 19 has fuelled interest in him.
"It's good to inspire kids," said Till. "I've never been inspired by anyone. The one thing that inspired me were the Rocky films.
"If a kid can take inspiration from me and aspire to be like me then I'm doing a good job."
White added: "To have something extra extra [speaking Portuguese] like that - just another tangible - is incredible."
This weekend is just Till's seventh UFC fight, and his rise to title contention is one of the fastest in the sport's history. Some commentators believe he is being pushed by the UFC and White with a view to him becoming the face of the organisation.
But White said: "He beat Cowboy [Donald Cerrone] and then Wonderboy [Stephen Thompson] - the number one contender at the time. It's not like he hasn't fought anyone and he is just getting thrown in there with the champion.
"He's beaten the right guys."
Till, who was criticised when he came in overweight before victory over Thompson in his last fight, came in one pound under the 170lb welterweight limit at Friday's weigh-in, while Woodley registered 170lb.
"I don't know how many fights I have got at welterweight. It is time to move on. I'm looking at middleweight now," said 6ft 1in southpaw Till.
"It's not that I'm scared to move up to middleweight - I am not scared of any man on this earth, no matter what you weigh. Don't say I'm fighting at weltwerweight because I am scared."
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Can’t wait to see the fight in all honesty
Colby was injured so he couldn't fight, Wonderboy has lost to him twice, so who is it unfair on? Woodley hasn't defended his title since July 2017.
Till knocked Cowboy out in round 1, at worst you could say he drew against Wonderboy who was no 1 contender, so why doesn't he deserve a shot? He made weight easily for this. Wonderboy chose to fight him at 174.
As for the weight limit, honestly the gap between 170 and 185 is ridiculous anyway.
You like to spout off too eh?
I'm on board as well, 175 and 195 would be excellent new divisions. More guys would get to fight at something closer to a natural weight and not near kill themselves to gain a weight advantage.
Honestly if there was a 175 division he'd own it.
Not that hypothetical a question either, 10lb increments up to 205 have been proposed as standard MMA classes by the California Athletic Commission as part of their plan to reduce dangerous pre-fight cutting (a plan UFC seem to at least broadly be on board with).
That’s why it’s called Mixed martial arts. Stick to your X Box.