Michael Bisping believes Darren Till is in a high-risk, high-reward situation.
Till is set to move up to the middleweight division when he takes on Kelvin Gastelum. The bout is scheduled for UFC 244 on Nov. 2. The action is being held inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. In terms of size, Till is certainly bulking up for the change in weight class.
Bisping discussed the match-up on an edition of his Believe You Me podcast. The UFC Hall of Famer explained why Till is taking a big risk.
“Gastelum [is] no joke, tough fight,” Bisping said. “Middleweight for Darren Till, that’s the right thing to do. Going down and killing yourself getting down to 170 isn’t a smart thing to do. But it is a tough fight. It’s a ballsy fight for Darren Till because if he beats Gastelum, he’s an immediate contender at 185. But if he loses to Gastelum, he’ll have lost three in a row. So there’s a lot to gain and there’s a lot to lose. There really is.”
While Bisping doesn’t see Darren Till getting cut if he does drop his third bout in a row, he still believes that “The Gorilla’s” stock would take a significant hit.
“Three in a row, I mean Darren Till’s got no fear of this, but three in a row sometimes people can get cut,” Bisping continued. “They’ll be out of the organization. Till won’t. He’s exciting, he’s got a massive following, he’s a huge star so he’s fine. But still, three in a row isn’t good for stock.”
Do you think Darren Till’s willingness to jump right into a bout with Kelvin Gastelum at middleweight will pay off? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/3/2019.