9 years ago UFC star Darren Till was the victim of a stabbing and today he issued a powerful message in wake of Ava White’s tragic death.

Till’s hometown of Liverpool, England, has struggled to contain knife crime and on November 25 a 12-year-old by the name of Ava White was stabbed and killed in the city.

The tragic death clearly struck a nerve with Darren Till, who today issued the following powerful message on Instagram marking the nine-year anniversary of his own stabbing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CXEATHGMUpT/

“9 years ago today I was stabbed twice in the back of my ribs. The great city of Liverpool has recently been shook up by the tragic death of the young & beautiful AVA White. Put down the knives kids & ask ur mums & dads to take you or take yourselves down to the local gyms.” Darren Till captioned the post. “Best thing you will ever do is step foot into a gym with a nice healthy environment and a good mentor in & outside of the gym.
Who knows maybe you might make a career out of it… That is my advice to any of the young kids out their reading this. You won’t regret it. #NoKnivesSavesLives 🔪❌”

Darren Till (18-4-1 MMA) last competed in September where he suffered a submission loss to Derek Brunson. The Liverpool native has gone just 1-4 over his last five fights, but he is still ranked at No. 8 in the UFC middleweight division.

‘The Gorilla’ had challenged Sean Strickland to a fight during his recent appearance on Michael Bisping “Believe You Me” podcast.

“There were a few options they threw out to me. One fight I really liked was Sean Strickland. They offered him as well, and I actually said to Sean – because I’ve seen him a few times at the UFC – I said, ‘Sean, if you want to get it on at some point, let’s do it because I think you’re a good fighter, I think it would be a good fight.’”

Unfortunately for Darren Till, the American Strickland opted to sign on for a scrap with Jack Hermansson instead.