Darren Till reveals why he is not willing to engage in Octagon wars in UFC

Darren Till will be competing in his second official bout in the Middleweight Division, as he prepares himself for a clash against former division champion Robert Whittaker.

Ahead of the fight, Till spoke with MMA Fighting and explained why he wants to stay away from proper striking wars when he steps into the Octagon. 'The Gorilla' explained that getting into a striking exchange inside the Octagon eventually takes a toll on a fighter.

The Liverpool based fighter then used the example of Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway, who are known for their classic striking, as Darren Till said that he has seen the two of them slurring a little bit because of the wars they've been involved in.

“One big thing I’ve always known throughout my career, the wars take the toll on you, and whoever you are, you can see them taking the toll. No disrespect, but when you look at guys like Justin Gaethje, and I look at Max Holloway now, and sometimes I seem glimpses of them slurring a little bit cause of the wars they’ve been in. All respect to the wars, but it ain’t a smart choice when you’re fighting."- Darren Till said.

Darren Till then used the example of Floyd Mayweather, stating that one would rather prefer looking at the direction of the latter, who has got all of his brain cells even at the age of 40 after barely taking a hit throughout his career.

"You want to sort of look in the direction of someone like Floyd Mayweather. Someone like that. He’s 40-plus [years old], whatever he is now, and he’s got all his brain cells because he hardly got hit."

Till lastly said wars inside the Octagon takes a toll on a fighter and also takes a toll of a fighter's chin.

“So I think them wars, they take the toll on you, and they do take the toll on your chin. I think anyone I touch anyway at middleweight, I found myself I’m going to hurt with that left hand but we’ll see.”

Darren Till vs. Robert Whittaker at UFC Fight Island

Darren Till will be returning to Octagon action this weekend at UFC Fight Island 3 when he steps into the cage against Robert Whittaker in the headliner of the event. The fight will be contested in the Middleweight Division and could possibly indicate who walks out as the new #1 contender for the Middleweight Title.