Is it make or break for Darren Till in the main event of UFC Fight Night 174?

When Darren Till defeated the highly rated Stephen Thompson back in May 2018, anything and everything seemed possible for the English fighter. In what was UFC’s first event in Liverpool, the fans gave Darren Till a reception comparable only to that of Conor McGregor when he fought in Dublin, back in 2014.

Darren Till came out to an electric Echo arena to the sound of ‘Sweet Caroline’ and many saw him as the best hope for Britain’s Mixed Martial Arts landscape. Darren Till would defeat Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision and stretched his MMA record to 17-0-1.

But everything would change for Darren Till after he signed up to fight champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 228. Till found himself decimated at the hands of the champion and didn’t land a single significant strike as Woodley finished him off by a D’arce choke in the first minute of the second round.

Darren Till would face even more adversity as Jorge Masvidal knocked him out back in his own country. This proved to be one of the lowest points of his career as Till would find himself in controversy regarding stealing a taxi in Tenerife, Canary Islands, a month after the aforementioned fight.

While Darren Till came back with a win against Kelvin Gastelum in his Middleweight debut at UFC 244, he will know how important this upcoming fight is for him.

No one from Britain, not even Michael Bisping, has captured the imagination of fans around the world like The Gorilla has.

But the hard part in this unforgiving sport is getting things done inside the octagon under the bright lights. That seemed to be where Till suffered the most, and he commented on it after his win over Gastelum at UFC 244.

Till seems to be a different person now and the deep introspection which comes with losses has made him better, at least according to himself.

"I wasn't even bothered about the win.""I was thinking of ways to fake an injury. I was scared to go out there."@darrentill2 as you'd never seen him before. An incredibly emotional and honest interview with @AdamCatterall after #UFC244 👏 #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek pic.twitter.com/5855mCK6vS

— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) May 18, 2020

Robert Whittaker remains one of the most dangerous fighters in the division, and there’s a reason “Bobby Knuckles” could withstand two epic five-round fights with Yoel Romero and get his hands raised both times.

While he looked nowhere near as impressive against Adesanya, Whittaker may just be the most formidable gatekeeper there has ever been in the promotion.

While a loss will hurt Till in his pursuit of Adesanya, he will still have lots of upsides in his career considering he is just 27 years old. UFC has always been keen on international fighters who can get a country behind them and Till falls into that category.

While Darren Till has stated his desire to fight for the title if he wins against Robert Whittaker on Saturday night, that seems too far-fetched at the moment. A spectacular knockout or a dominant performance over the former champion could help his cause as it did with Gilbert Burns.

The best sensible match-up for him at the moment seems to be against “The Joker” Jack Hermansson, who has already called out the winner of this fight after his spectacular performance against Kelvin Gastelum.

If Till wins his fight at the weekend, it will set him up with a perfect chance to showcase his improvement in the ground after that terrible performance against Woodley for the welterweight title.