Stephen Thompson and Darren Till are two of the best strikers in the welterweight division at this moment in time and they’ve been speaking out this week about their upcoming showdown in the main event of UFC Fight Night 130 in Liverpool.
Till has always been extremely confident in his own abilities, and while that’s no different heading into this fight, it’s clear that he has a lot of respect for what ‘Wonderboy’ brings to the cage.
“I think it’s gonna be the most interesting fight of my life, just because of his fight IQ and my own,” Till told the “Obviously Fight Talk” podcast. “So let’s see who wins. Let’s see who is the best striker in the division. Now it’s time to see.”
Some have suggested that perhaps this fight is coming a little too early for the 25-year-old Till, but with an unblemished fight record, including a huge win over Donald Cerrone last time out, he believes he’s more than capable of handling himself against the former title contender.
“In terms of earliness, striking-wise I don’t think it’s too early because of been striking all my life and so has he,” Till said. “I wouldn’t say in terms of that — and even MMA. I wouldn’t say his wrestling caliber is any better than mine or his ground game. I know he’s got some good training partners — Chris Weidman and all. But I don’t see where he’s better than me anywhere. I just think my striking is better.”
Needless to say, Thompson disagrees and he believes that on the night he’ll be able to prove that he’s at the top of the food chain when it comes to striking.
“That’s what I’m out here to prove to everybody around the world — there are levels to this,” Thompson told MMAWeekly. “I’m going to go out there and I’m going to do work. You’re going to see the difference in the level from No. 1 to No. 7.”
“UFC’s giving him a chance so I know he’s going to come prepared and anybody in the UFC has a chance to knock you out. So I’m not going to take this guy lightly. I’m going to prove to everybody why I’m No. 1 and there are levels to this game.”
