Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till made his middleweight debut opposite Kelvin Gastelum at this evenings UFC 244 event in New York.
The Liverpool native entered tonight’s contest looking to rebound, this after suffering the first two losses of his professional career in his most recent Octagon appearances.
Prior to tonight’s event, Till had most previously been seen in action at March’s UFC London fight card, where he suffered a brutal knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal.
That setback prompted Till’s move to middleweight and he had a very tough task in front of him in the form of Kelvin Gastelum.
The former interim middleweight title challenger, Gastelum, was also looking to rebound at this evening at Madison Square Garden. ‘KG’ had suffered a unanimous decision loss to Israel Adesanya in his previous effort at UFC 236.
While tonight’s co-main event did not result in the thriller many anticipated, it did prove to be a good showing for Darren Till.
The Englishman utilized his reach advantage to pepper Gastelum with jabs and low kicks on route to a split-decision victory.
Darren Till spoke with TSN‘s Aaron Bronsteter following his much needed win over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244.
“I mean I think I need a few days to take that in really,” Till said when asked about now likely being ranked a top-ten middleweight. “But I am just so thrilled to just have been even in the Octagon with such a guy like Kelvin. You know I have the utmost respect for him. I’ve got the utmost respect for every fighter but their are certain guys I just respect a lot and you know I am just really thrilled that I am here at MSG. A good moment for me.”
Bronsteter then asked Darren Till if this was the “craziest week of his life” due to the visa issues and then Kelvin Gastelum’s controversial weigh in.
“Yeah, I didn’t know what was happening. I was chilled and then stressed at the weigh ins. I spoke a lot in my post interview with Joe Rogan and said how I fought a lot of like internal demons inside of me to get to this position. You know I was so terrified tonight to even just step in to this arena and then step in that Octagon. But I have overcome it and overcome the fight. And you know, a lot of things are possible.”
Who would you like to see Darren Till fight next following his win over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244? Sound off in the comments section PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com November 3, 2019