Darren Till shows physical body change over the years

British MMA fighter Darren Till went on an incredible 18 fight undefeated streak at the start of his career which earned him a title fight in the UFC. After losing this fight to Tyron Woodley, his career then suffered a number of losses and suddenly, his mystique as an unstoppable fighter was gone.

Some have claimed that this was due to his lack of grappling on the floor, as Till was clearly most comfortable on his feet. However, others have speculated that it was more to do with his weight and struggles to fight in good shape. Here, we shall assess his weight and whether it was best for him to move up to middle weight from welterweight.

As seen below, the two pictures look very different. On the one side, Till has the body of an elite MMA fighter, whereas on the other picture he looks to have the body of an average man at his age. This is the difference in his physique as a welterweight (shredded) and a middleweight (more body fat).

Statistically, the numbers don’t lie – as a welterweight, Till had far more success as a fighter. Of course, many of those wins came before the UFC in easier promotions but nonetheless, he still beat numerous, solid fighters as welterweight including Donald Cerrone and Stephen Thompson. When he switched to middleweight though, his record became substantially worse.

According to till, he would naturally walk around as a middleweight and train at this higher weight class. He also opened up, claiming that his weight cuts were too harsh on his body and borderline dangerous. For one fight, he claimed to go temporarily blind beforehand which is a symptom of dehydration. Obviously, this could have turned fatal and would have been dangerous to fight in this state. At the same time, Till hasn’t always been as professional as he could be. In the image shown below, his diet is sometimes very unprofessional for a pro fighter.

So, the story of Darren Till is an interesting one. On the one hand, he could have potentially stayed at welterweight, continued doing dangerous weight cuts, and potentially won the UFC championship at some point. On the other hand, this could have caused him severe long-term health problems due to his intense weight cuts. Even though his UFC career may not be as great as it could have been, he’s probably better off in the long run at middle weight in terms of health.

This is a good example of how looking good doesn’t always mean you feel good. It also shows how weight cutting can dramatically change the physique of an MMA fighter and that ripped six-pack muscles don’t always mean you’re in good shape.