Darren Till was inspired by Charles Oliviera on Saturday.
In the main event of UFC 262, Oliveira became the new UFC lightweight champion when he scored a second-round TKO over Michael Chandler. It was a great performance from the Brazilian, and for Till, he says he is inspired by the road Oliveira took to become a champ.
“I take inspiration from a lot of things, and you see Charles Oliveira, he has just became the lightweight champion after what, 10 years, 11 years,” Till said on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast (via MMAJunkie). “How many losses? How many wins? How many setbacks? How much being looked over? So that for me is a big factor, knowing that I’m 28, I haven’t been in MMA not that long, only a few years, and I feel like I’m at my prime in the next year or two.”
Darren Till is set to fight Derek Brunson on August 14 barring he is healthy in time. If he does, he knows a win would put him into title contention. For Till, he says he has sacrificed way too much to not be the UFC champ.
“I’ve sacrificed too much f*cking sh*t in my life to get to this point to be like, ‘Yeah man, I’m happy I was a top-three UFC fighter,’” Till said. “A lot of people get to the UFC and they feel like they’ve achieved. ‘Oh, I’m in the UFC. Sound.’ I ain’t happy with just being in the UFC.
“I’ve sacrificed too much f*cking sh*t. I’ve never had another job. I’ve never done any other sh*t in me life. I’ve gone through hell, and I’ve got to this point,” Till continued. “I’m not prepared in any way, shape or form to take any steps back. In fact, everyday I feel like I’m more violent to get what I want. In retrospect, I’m not going to let no one or nothing stop me. I know for a fact in my life I will be a UFC champion. There just ain’t no two ways about it.”
Darren Till has not fought since he lost to Robert Whittaker last July on Fight Island.