Stephen Thompson Says Darren Till Doesn’t Deserve To Be Fighting For A UFC Title
Only one man on planet earth knows what it’s like to step foot inside the Octagon with both Darren Till and Tyron Woodley and his name is Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Thompson fought Woodley twice for the UFC welteweight title at UFC 205 and then UFC 209, but after failing to take the belt from the champion on both occasions, he found himself down the rankings and fighting Till is own backyardf of Liverpool earlier this year.
Despite having home advantage, Till missed weight badly on the scales and came in 3.5-pounds over the 171-pounds weight limit. The Liverpudlian went on to win the fight via a unanimous decision, but coming in so far over the weight limit left a bitter taste in a lot of people’s mouths, including obviosuly Thompson.
Speaking to Submission Radio this week, Thompson didn’t hold back expressing his frustrations about Till getting a shot at the belt after missing weight.
“Do I think he deserves it? No. I really don’t. This is a professional sport, and making weight is part of the job. You agreed to make the weight. I mean, it’s like the Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero. You know, if you don’t make weight, you don’t fight for the title. I think it should be the same. If you don’t make weight, you don’t move up the rankings.
“It’s part of the job. You signed a contract to be that way, and my god, you should make it, you should make it. And he was bragging about it weeks before the fight how he’s this massive 170(-pounder), how the UFC shouldn’t be allowing the fight. Which made him look even worse because he didn’t make weight. And that was 171. I mean, how is he gonna make 170? So yeah, man, I would definitely be questioning that as a fan, but also as the UFC. So, for him to be actually fighting for the title, man… and they’re wondering why people aren’t making weight.”
“Wonderboy” then went on to explain that he thinks Till missing weight may have been a tactic and one that he decided to employ because of the lack repercussions.
“There’s no consequences,” Thompson continued. “Yeah sure, he wasn’t getting paid much for that fight, so of course he won’t make weight. Give 20 or 30 percent or whatever it was to move up the rakings. So now, I mean, he’s probably getting crazy money to fight now, so I bet it was worth it. And the UFC is like, why aren’t these guys making weight? Because there’s no consequences.
“You know, no real consequences. A lot of people will give them 30 percent and move up the rakings cause their next fight will be more money. It’s just a sacrifice at the moment for a bigger gain later on.”
Listen to the full interview:
