Dricus Du Plessis victory shows Darren Till was only willing to fight the best

Fast-rising middleweight Dricus Du Plessis beat Sean Strickland by split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) on Sunday morning to become the first South African champion in UFC history.

The 30-year-old, nicknamed 'Stillknocks', beat Liverpool fighter Darren Till by submission in the third round of their UFC 282 bout back in 2022 prompting questions about the Scouser's future in the sport.

But does the latest victory from talented fighter Du Plessis put that defeat into a new perspective and show Till was only willing to fight the best?

Confident Till, 31, now appears set to focus on a career in boxing, but he quickly become a fans' favourite in the UFC. His willingness to take on opponents anytime anywhere saw him rise to fame putting him on course to receive a title shot just seven fights into his UFC career at welterweight, but he fell short after losing a bout to Tyrone Woodley by second round submission.

He soon moved up a weight due to his struggles to make the 170lbs limit and made his middleweight debut at UFC 244, where he was the co-main event to former opponent, Jorge Masvidal. Till took on former interim title challenger Kelvin Gatselum in November 2019, winning by split decision.

After the fight he revealed that UFC president Dana White tried to convince him not to take the fight. He told reporters: “Where I come from and how we train and how I am as a fighter, my mentality is, I’m here to fight the best, win or lose, I’m here to fight all these top fighters, I don’t really understand the concept of the easier path or the easy fights, if that’s what you want, maybe you should look at another career."

He would then fight top contender Derek Brunson, who was on a four fight win streak and looking to gain a title bout. Till lost the fight in September 2021 but later revealed he tore his Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) eight weeks before the bout.

He returned to fight highly-rated Du Plessis in December 2022 and lost again. But the bout with Du Plessis, now newly-crowned champion of the middleweight division, has shown us that Till has only fought the best of the best.

Du Plessis has beaten Derek Brunson, former champion Robert Whittaker and has just shown that he is clearly one of the best out there. Stillknocks only needs to fight former champion Israel Adesanya to prove it.

Looking at the competition the newly-crowned champion has faced and the manor in which he has won, it shows us that Till was only willing to face the best of the best. 

What does this mean for Darren Till? 

Looking at his former opponents, you can see that he fought top contenders. It is something to be admired and not criticised. He fought former interim title challenger Gastelum, who gave former king of the middleweights Israel Adesayna his toughest fight. Till went to a close decision with former champion Robert Whittaker, only losing by a single take down and now champion Driscus Du Plessis.

Till has since left the UFC after it was confirmed he requested his release from the organisation in May of 2023. Till stated that he wants to 'venture out and obviously look out for my health for two years, and come back'.

UFC president White confirmed he had asked for his release despite speculation that it wasn't his choice. White said that he would take him back in the future.

Since the announcement, there have been rumours of him pursuing a boxing career and a rumoured fight with long time rival Mike Perry - a mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer. Till recently told The Mac Life: "My mindset's to only be one thing, on one person: the Mike Perry fight."#

Till was spotted at the Tommy Fury vs KSI fight and even did a face-off with Perry. Till and Perry have been have a had long rivalry with Till calling out the American after his he stopped Donald Cerrone in October 2018 in the first round.

Till said he's open to signing with Misfits boxing, a promotion owned partly by famous British YouTuber, boxer and rapper KSI. The promotion is known for the 'influencer boxing'.