Darren Till says a financial offer he could not refuse was the reason he signed with BKFC after years of publicly dismissing the sport, and says his eventual goal is a fight with Mike Perry.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, Till was candid about what changed.
“What changed is my bank account got a few zeroes in it. The opportunity was too good to pass. David had been on me for a while. He spoke to my manager back and forth, he sat down with the team and said ‘Darren, look, the time is now, the offer’s really good and Darren it sort of fits your style, suits your style the way you fight.’ I’m a boxing, punch combination guy. I do hit hard. I’ve got big hands and stuff.”
Till described the mindset he plans to bring to bare-knuckle.
“I’ve got one of the guys out with me that’s done 13 bare-knuckle fights so he obviously knows his way around. I think in this bare-knuckle from me speaking my opinion, I think it’s a ‘f*ck you’ attitude you’ve got to have. You’re going to get hit. You’re going to get cut. It’s going to hurt. If that’s my only fear, there’s no sleepless nights. Nothing. Confidence is high.”
On MMA, the 33-year-old was honest about his future in the sport.
“I’ve had my time in the UFC. I didn’t do too badly. I’ve had a good little go in Misfits. Probably 85 percent MMA is behind me to be honest with you.”
Perry — the face of BKFC — had originally been planned as Till’s debut opponent before Perry signed with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions for his fight with Nate Diaz. Till said he will stay in BKFC until that fight happens.
“I’ll stay around the bare-knuckle until it happens. So if I have to take 10 fights to get to the Mike Perry fight, that’s what’s going to happen, isn’t it? Obviously, I’m coming over to his turf. He’s the ‘King of Violence.’ I’ve got to take his title from him. Hopefully by the end of this year, that fight gets made and we finally meet in the center.”