Darren Till explains failed UFC Liverpool weight cut, says he offered ‘100 percent’ of his purse

Even though Darren Till had to tend to a family emergency prior to his official weigh in earlier today (Sat., May 26, 2018) for his main event clash with Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 130 in Liverpool, England, there’s no excuse for missing weight by 3.5 pounds.

Luckily, the headlining bout will still go on as planned (for now). Thompson has agreed to fight the heavier Till and Till has agreed to relinquish 30 percent of his fight purse to “Wonderboy.”

But what happened with Till?

The promising contender has missed weight once before under UFC rule — coming in five pounds over the welterweight limit back at UFC Fight Night 109 — but this event was built around him. He was supposed to make the next jump up the divisional ladder and prove he’s ready for a UFC title shot.

Till did his best to explain the botched cut, adding that he offered to give up his entire paycheck to prevent the main event from being scrapped.

“There’s never no excuse for missing weight,” Till told MMAjunkie. “I always say it: When you fight, and you lose a fight, there’s no excuse. You lose. Same with the battle with the scales. This time I lost, and there’s no excuse. I know that the UFC said why I missed and gave some information. When I started cutting weight I got an emergency call. It was a family matter. I just had to go to the hospital there and back. I only had five kilos (11 pounds) to go. Usually I have six, seven. I was running. I was OK. I was fine. And I tried to get in the sauna, tried to get in the steam, I tried to do a bath. It just wasn’t happening. I was knackered.

“I missed weight, and I’m truly embarrassed by it, but the fight’s still on hopefully. I’ve got to weigh in again tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes. I know they’re very adamant I’ve got to weigh a certain weight. The ball’s in their court.

“Listen, I offered 100 percent of my purse. Money is no object. Money will come sooner than later. I offered 100 percent.”

While the bout is officially still on (for now), the battle isn’t over. As part of the deal for missing weight, Till cannot be bigger than 188 pounds tomorrow morning (Sun., May 27, 2018) before his clash with Thompson.

Till is ready to continue cutting weight if he has to, but he remains a little worrisome considering he often walks around close to 210 pounds.

“They were adamant I had to weigh in 83-85 kilo (182-187 pounds), which just – it’s bad for me health,” Till said. “We’ll see what happens in the morning when I weigh. I’ve already started drinking. I’ve already started filling back up. We’ll see. I’m sure the fight’s on. I’ll have to pass medicals, and I’ll have to train tonight or tomorrow. But I’m mentally prepared for anything. Nothing gets to me in this life. If I do have to train in the morning to make the weight and cut again, I’ll do it.

“Eighty-five kilo tomorrow morning is not enough. It’s not that it’s not enough. I just put weight on so quick. I’ve got a slow metabolism. I just started drinking before, and it went up like that. So, we’ll see. It could be a mind game. If I have to make the weight, I’ll make it.”

As of now, everything is still in place. Till will get his opportunity to become the first fighter to stop “Wonderboy,” while Thompson will try to steal the youngster’s momentum to lock down his third UFC title shot.

Stick with Mania as Till attempts to hit his 188-pound limit prior to tomorrow’s event.