Darren Till looks to impress at UFC Fight Night 118
UFC welterweight star Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has always been far more straight-talker than trash-talker.
That’s why it’s so believable when Cerrone says he wasn’t even entirely sure what his UFC Fight Night 118 opponent Darren Till looked like until they arrived in Gdansk, Poland this week for the fight.
“It was no disrespect from me,” Cerrone said Wednesday. “I wasn’t trying to prod at the kid, I just didn’t know who Darren Till was. He has like three fights (in the UFC). He’s a new up-and-comer. This will be the biggest moment of his life. Will five rounds be too much for him? He went from the undercard to the big card. Hey man, welcome to the big leagues.”
Till promises Cerrone will never forget him after Saturday.
The Liverpool, England, native is 3-0-1 since signing with the UFC and undefeated as a professional in 16 fights.
Saturday’s main event is by far his biggest opportunity to date and he intends to take full advantage.
“I’m just trying to live in the moment and make the most of every minute of it,” the powerful 24-year-old striker said. “This kind of opportunity doesn’t come along all the time. I’ve grabbed it with both hands.
“This fight is my fight, it’s my show. There’s nothing he is bringing to the table that I haven’t seen before.”
Cerrone has seen it all. He has been through the battles and has no intention of going away even at 34 and coming off back-to-back losses.
“Some people say Cowboy is the gate-keeper,” Cerrone said. “Well then can you get past the gate?
“I’ve been in the game a long time, this is like my 34th time doing a Zuffa walk and I’ve been in the top-10 pretty much my entire career. That’s pretty cool to sit back and say.”
As great as his career has been, the UFC belt has been an elusive prize for Cerrone. He was making a run at another title shot before his current slide.
The negative results really don’t seem to matter to him.
“It doesn’t always go my way,” he said. “Right now, I’m two in the wrong and the Robbie (Lawler) fight could have gone either way. I fought the best in the world and I loved it but in the end, it’s what I love to do.”
He is a bit out of his comfort zone this week, however. Cerrone typically drives his RV to fights in the United States from his home in New Mexico, but was relegated to an airplane at a hotel in Poland.
Cerrone said the adjustment has been fine and he’s actually enjoying his time in Europe.
Till hopes to make sure Cerrone has a long flight home.
He believes he can add the veteran’s name to the list of nine opponents he has already knocked out in his young career.
“Fighting isn’t about age or experience; it’s about intelligence,” Till said. “I know I’m the most intelligent fighter out there. I don’t think he’s half the fighter I am, I really don’t.
“The first round, I’m going to mentally break him. I know I am, and he’s going to start questioning himself more as the fight goes on.”
Till hopes a win can help him secure another big-name opponent, possibly even for a card in Liverpool.
He believes he will be a world champion in the very near future.
At the very least, he wants to make Cerrone remember his name.
The bout is part of an event that will stream exclusively on UFC Fight Pass. A women’s strawweight bout between Jodie Esquibel and contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz is also part of the main card, which starts at noon.
Heavyweights Anthony Hamilton and Adam Wieczorek will not compete on Saturday.
The preliminary card bout was scrapped because of safety concerns due to the potential presence of a group of fans of local soccer club, Lechia Gdansk.
Wieczorek supports rival club Ruch Chorzow. UFC officials exercised caution Friday when they held Hamilton and Wieczorek out of the ceremonial weigh-ins after a vocal group of Lechia Gdansk hooligans made their presence known.
The decision was later made to move the bout off the card and reschedule it for the Nov. 19 event in Sydney.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.
