5 reasons why Darren Till might not ever reach his potential

#2. A welterweight return isn't the answer

Darren Till is at a crossroads in his career. At one point in time, he was a welterweight contender with a serious size advantage over the rest of the division. In the middleweight division, however, he does not possess many of the physical advantages that rendered him so effective in the 170lbs weight class.

Thus, a return to the welterweight division might seem like a tantalizing option for 'The Gorilla'. Unfortunately, such a return would be ill-advised. Given Darren Till's antiquated counter-wrestling, which the previous entry detailed, he will struggle against the much higher-level wrestlers at welterweight.

Kamaru Usman, Colby Covington, Khamzat Chimaev, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Sean Brady and Belal Muhammad are all crowding the top rankings. Worse still, the current crop of welterweights consists of larger and stronger fighters than the ones Darren Till faced during his run through the division.

In fact, out of all the welterweights Till has defeated in the UFC, only Stephen Thompson remains ranked in the top 10.

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#1. His injuries

Over the last two years, Darren Till has fought exactly twice. Prior to facing Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night 191, 'The Gorilla' withdrew from two scheduled bouts due to injury. Initially, he was scheduled to face Jack Hermansson at UFC on ESPN 19 before withdrawing from the matchup due to an undisclosed injury.

Afterwards, he was booked to meet Marvin Vettori at UFC on ABC 2 but again withdrew from the bout due to another injury, this time a broken collarbone. When he stepped inside the octagon to face Derek Brunson, 'The Gorilla' was not in optimal physical condition, carrying more fat than UFC fans were accustomed to seeing from him.

He lost the bout via rear-naked choke. A year later, Till was scheduled to lock horns with Jack Hermansson in the UFC's second attempt at booking the matchup. As he did before, Till withdrew from the bout due to an undisclosed injury, continuing his injury struggles.

Not only are they keeping him relatively inactive, which is allowing the division to pass him by in terms of skill, but the longer he goes without a fight, the more his timing will deteriorate and the more sharpening his skill-set will need.

Lastly, sustaining injuries this frequently can't be good for his long-term health. It is also keeping him out of the gym longer, preventing him from training and improving while everyone else does so.