Darren Till was going into his fight with Derek Brunson with a severe injury, Michael Bisping revealed.
Till suffered a third-round submission loss to Brunson on Saturday in a fight the Englishman was the favorite to win. It was a disappointing performance as he was dominated from bell to bell before tapping out due to a rear-naked choke.
Although many were disappointed in Darren Till’s performance, Michael Bisping revealed Till entered the fight after tearing his ACL just 10 weeks ago.
“I went backstage to see Darren after the fight, he was very disappointed of course, but he was a man and holding it together,” Bisping said about Till on BT Sport. “He was frustrated and understandably so. I spent about 30 minutes with him and Colin Heron, just talking to him and giving him some advice. Perhaps I’m breaking guy code here but there was an injury coming into that fight, he tore his ACL about 10 weeks ago and he never mentioned it.
“It’s an excuse, it’s a reason, whatever you want to call it, he never mentioned it and I’m sure Derek had problems as well,” Bisping continued about Till. “Certainly with that kind of injury, and he said he was having all kinds of medical treatment leading up to the fight. Of course, with that injury, it would’ve hampered his performance but still, you can’t take away from Derek Brunson on that night, Darren chose to step in.”
It should be noted that neither Till nor anyone on his team has confirmed that he tore his ACL before the fight. The severity of the injury is also unknown. However, if he did have that injury, the Englishman will be out of the Octagon for a year or so. When he returns, Till will look to snap his two-fight losing skid.
What do you make of Darren Till tearing his ACL before his fight against Derek Brunson?