MMA vet and BKFC star Darren Till reveals why he left the UFC

Darren Till has shed light on the real reason behind his UFC departure.

Darren Till's MMA career has been on the backburner after he parted ways with the UFC

The Englishman's exit from the UFC MMA organization came at a time when he was still competing against some of the very best in the sport. It, in turn, led many to speculate about why he chose to take his talents elsewhere in his athletic prime. 

Till hasn't competed in a professional MMA bout since his submission defeat in a middleweight clash against Dricus du Plessis back in December of 2022. The veteran mixed martial artist has instead fought in the sports of professional boxing and bare-knuckle boxing. 

BKFC 94 Manchester headliner Darren Till reveals the real reason for his UFC departure

During a recent conversation with former UFC lightweight contender Josh Thomson on the latter's Weighing In YouTube channel, former UFC welterweight and middleweight star Darren Till addressed his next fight.

"The Gorilla" is scheduled to take on fellow ex-UFC middleweight Yoel Romero in a bare-knuckle boxing match. The Till-Romero 190-pound catchweight fight headlines BKFC 94 Manchester at the AO Arena in the city of Manchester. 

Thomson hailed Till's ripped physique ahead of the high-profile bare-knuckle fight, alluding to recent speculation surrounding how the Briton has seemingly evolved into a stronger version of himself as of late. 

The discussion segued into how Till is more motivated and disciplined now than he was toward the end of his UFC run. The 33-year-old suggested that it was because his mind and body needed rest and rejuvenation back then. He stated: 

"I think I was just suffering from the end... Obviously, when I tore me ACL, just before I fought Derek Brunson, and I never ever got it fixed. It's not fixed now. And I think I just got a bit demotivated and stuff like that." 

He harked back to fighting former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson, and future champion Dricus du Plessis to wrap up his UFC stint. Till added:

"I think it just was like, 'Before I carry on this journey, in MMA, UFC, I need to get me body right.' And it sounds silly. I still haven't had the ACL surgery done, which I'm going to be planning to get done the end of this year." 

The Liverpudlian indicated that stepping away from MMA competition gave him the opportunity to focus purely on training the striking aspect of his game, as the grappling training was adversely affecting his ACL issue. He spoke about having a "newfound focus" and "newfound love" for fighting, as the years of battering he'd taken with MMA training took a toll on him and had made him fall out of love with fighting. 

Till underscored that he's reinvigorated, loves fighting, and is open to competing in bare-knuckle boxing, gloved boxing, as well as making a possible UFC comeback and resuming his MMA career. The striking savant also credited his coach and training schedule for his strength and conditioning, in addition to confirming that his BKFC clash against Yoel Romero would be contested at a 190-pound catchweight. 

Watch Darren Till address the reason behind his UFC exit below (*comments at the 3:40-minute mark of the video):