Din Thomas Says Darren Till’s Size Will Be Irrelevant At UFC 228
The countdown is on for UFC 228 and the main event between Tyron Woodley and Darren Till is heating up nicely.
Woodley will make a long awaited return to the Octagon having been out of action for 13 months following shoulder surgery. Till will challenge for his first ever UFC title and will put his 17-0-1 undefeated record on the line when the two clash in Dallas, Texas on September 8.
Both fighters went to toe-to-toe for the first time earlier this month in Los Angeles, California at the UFC’s 25th Anniversary press conference. Till looked much the larger of the two men onstage, but speaking to the Slip N’ Dip podcast this week, Woodley’s coach Din Thomas said neither he or Woodley were worried about the Liverpudlian’s size.
“Yeah no doubt about that, he has a big frame,” Thomas said. “But at the end of the day, he’s got to make the weight. You can be as big as you want, but you still have to me 170-pounds the day before. It doesn’t matter how big he is a month or two weeks prior. The day before the fight he has to be 170-pounds and that’s all that matters.
“As long as he shows up at 170-pounds that’s all we care about. Like Tyron said, even if he doesn’t make the weight, the fight is still going to happen. It doesn’t matter. Till is a big guy, but like Floyd Mayweather says, ‘Fighting wins fights’ and we’re coming to fight.”
Till missing weight twice in his last four fights has the world talking about whether the challenger will be able to tip the scales at 170-pounds. Fellow challenger Kamaru Usman has let the world know he will be on weight in Dallas ready to fill in should he be required, but Thomas says the fight with Till will go ahead whether the Liverpudlian makes weight or not.
“What’s funny about that is that if you Google that, or if you look on the internet about that whole thing about Kamaru Usman, I mean most of the sites that have published that have used it for if something happens to Tyron, Kamaru Usman is coming in and it’s not if Darren Till misses weigh, Kamaru Usman is coming in,” Thomas said.
“It’s always if something happens to Tyron and I find that kind of weird because there’s no reason why Tyron would pull out of the fight. He’s never pulled out of a fight or anything. It’s kinda weird how they wrote the narrative on that. We’ve never discussed the option of fighting Kamaru Usman. Everything we’ve done is for Darren Till.”
Woodley’s loss to Rory MacDonald over four years ago has been brought up plenty of times since the announcement of his latest fight with many drawing comparisons between Till’s style and the Canadian’s. Thomas, however, thinks there are a lot of differences when it comes to MacDonald and Till and that the Liverpudlian’s aggressive striking may play into the hands of the champion come fight night.
“I also think it’s a totally different stylistic matchup between Rory and Darren Till,” Thomas said. “Rory is an extremely calculated and cautious fighter, but I think Darren Till will be a little more aggressive and throw the heat on Tyron to get him in some of those positions that Rory had Tyron.
“Rory had Tyron in some compromising positions and didn’t really capitalise on it. I think Till is a little bit more relentless and ruthless and will try to take advantage, which will probably help Tyron out a little more.”
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