What martial arts does Darren Till use in the UFC?
During his mid-20s, Darren Till was on top of the world and even fought Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight title. Although he was unsuccessful and his career tailed off since then, he was still an incredible force and went years undefeated in MMA. These days, people are quick to talk about his antics outside of the cage and rarely talk about just how good he was.
In this article, we shall look at what martial arts Darren Till uses in the UFC. We shall be giving him an unbiased analysis, based on his strengths and weaknesses as a fighter. Arguably with more tactical tweaking and better strategy, Tills career could have been much better. Still, he was undoubtedly very talented and his striking was world-class.
Darren Till’s striking background
Muay Thai
It’s not surprising that Till is very good at Muay Thai considering his history with the discipline. Such was Till’s devotion to Muay Thai, he even dropped out of school aged 14 to turn professional. This was just two years after starting Muay Thai which was his first entry into martial arts. When looking at his style in MMA and his large frame, it’s clear that Muay Thai suits him perfectly.
In his prime, Till would pick off his opponents with his long reach and then use elbows and knees from close range. In his UFC debut against Wendell de Oliveira Marques, Till would successfully knock out his opponent by using his elbows – thus proving his solid Muay Thai skills.
Kickboxing
In his youth, Darren Till did compete in amateur kickboxing. You can see some of his fights online, including fights in Romania – which proves how devoted he was to fighting. Early on in his career, Till went to train in Brazil which doesn’t have the same kickboxing scene compared to Europe – so there he focused more on MMA. These days, you can’t find much on his kickboxing record online, and there are lots of myths and rumors.
Some claim he had a 61-0 kickboxing record, whilst others claim it was far less. Honestly, only Till will know this but what we all know is that his kickboxing is very technical. With this said, it wouldn’t be too surprising if he did go undefeated in kickboxing, especially if he fought easier opponents. Further proof of his skills can be seen in his fight against Stephen Thompson.
Like Till, Thompson was also known as an elite kickboxer. Honestly, this fight was pretty close and Till just about edged it. Re-watching the fight, it was more like a kickboxing bout compared to an MMA fight, which proved how good Till was at striking.
Darren Till’s grappling background
Whilst Till was undoubtedly a top striker, his grappling game wasn’t as good. Over the years, his lack of grappling has caused criticism from fans who argue he’s too focused on striking. There are some examples of this too. For instance, after one loss, Khamzat Chimaev even asked Till to train with him and learn grappling. Obviously, Chimaev is a top grappler, so it speaks volumes that he offered to train with Till. Interestingly, Till would take up this opportunity and train with Chimaev which would have undoubtedly improved his grappling.
Darren Till and BJJ
Back in the day, you could be a UFC champion whilst neglecting Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. These days, it’s not really possible. It’s not that Till hasn’t trained in BJJ, it’s just that he doesn’t use it much in MMA. For example, he is a purple belt in Luta livre which is a form of no-gi submission grappling. This shows he can do ground fighting and purple belt isn’t an easy rank to obtain.
In fact, in some of his earlier professional MMA fights, he proved that he could use BJJ effectively. Two of his fights were won by submissions, where Till landed a toe hold and triangle choke in separate fights. Remember, this took place in Brazil too, where BJJ is obviously fought with a high standard.
However, in the UFC, Till has suffered with BJJ. Most notably, he lost to Tyron Woodley at UFC 228 by darce choke. Then, he would lose by rear naked choke to Derek Brunson in 2021. Obviously, there’s name shame in getting submitted – however, Till’s lack of engagement on the ground has definitely lost him fights. In one bout against Jorge Masvidal, Till knocked Masvidal down with a hard punch. Instead of jumping on Masvidal, he let him back up which would result in Masvidal knocking him out. Had Till used BJJ, he could have capitalized on putting Masvidal in a bad position. Sadly, this didn’t happen.
Darren Till and wrestling
Online, there is video footage of Darren Till wrestling at his Kaobon gym in Liverpool. Here, he was clearly a decent grappler and knew what he was doing. When fighting in MMA, Till doesn’t really wrestle unless he has to. In other words, he prefers to stand up and punch, rather than grapple.
Based on his BJJ history, this makes sense. So, when Till does wrestle, it’s rare that he’ll initiate a take down. Instead, he usually wrestles to defend takedowns. This is fair enough and is a tactic that Conor McGregor often used successfully. Overall, Till’s defensive wrestling isn’t too bad and has helped in many of his MMA fights.
Conclusion
Overall, it’s fair to say Darren Till is a really good fighter. Sadly, he’s always just fallen short of achieving greatness. As seen above, Till could have gone further if he had worked on his BJJ more. With this said, you could claim that he’s also one of the most frustrating fighters to watch. This is because his stand up game was excellent but his ground game wasn’t as effective.
Still, Till has had a brilliant career and has done far more than most. Combined with his natural charisma and quirky humor, we can clearly see why Darren Till has created such a loyal fan base.
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