I say it's not easy to put yourself out there with the eyes of the world looking at your every step. Some are holding their breath because their nerves are gone looking at you, others scream for your downfall and want you to fail. Last night At UFC 244 Darren Till was holding onto those demons, going into the fight there was this feeling that ppl had, If Till was to lose, Could this be the end of him? Was the Hype to much? Would moving up Weight even make a difference at all? All those where answered last night at Madison Square Garden.
Till moving up to Middleweight was a huge step but the right one in that, trying to make Welterweight for Till was a tough ordeal. Hes was a big man for WW, even bigger at MW as we seen. It was the right call eventually. The fight was announced that Till's MW debut would be at MSG at UFC 244 against Kelvin Gastelum, the same man that came close to winning the MW title earlier on this year in a Fight of The Year contender. A very tough task for Till, Especially after his last two losses, but we all know Till doesn't back down from a fight, he was ready to prove the doubters wrong come UFC244.
During Fight Week it was reported that Till was having Visa issue's which prevented him from flying to New York on schedule, this put a question mark over the entire fight altogether. This was resolved quickly but now it put Till is an awkward position by cutting weight on a plane to the event. Stressed enough with the fight and now this, it only made Till more determined. No way was this was going to phase Till. Little did we know, inside he was terrified.
Come Fight night it was a very quick event to say for once, Before I knew it, it was already the Co-Main event. Sweet Caroline hit the speakers as Till made his way to the octagon. This was a different fighter altogether though, Normally Till would come out Singing along to the song, getting the crowd riled up, This time he walked out fully focus at the task at hand. This was do or die for Till and facing a bulldozer like Gastelum would be a difficult fight altogether. This was Till's time.
The Fight started Immediately with both men In the clinch, testing each others power, it was back and forth for the first few mins of Round 1. On breaks Till would keep Gastelum at bay with leg kicks and always at arms length. If anyone expected a Slug-Fest, then sorry this was more like a Tactical chess match instead. Both fighters knew what the other brought to the table maybe even feared each others power, hence why it went the way it did. Till clocked Gastelum a few times in the fight, which made Gastelum furious and unable to read Till's movement. Till played a good and safe fight, maybe even gun-shy, knowing what Gastelum could do, Till stayed on the outside most of the fight. In Rounds 2 and 3 Till would step up and land better strikes with his punches and leg kicks, still keeping Gastelum at arm length the entire fight. As the fight went deeper Gastelum became more frustrated still unable to read Till, it showed in round 3 when Gastelum decided to take the fight to the ground but it didn't keep Till down. As the fight came to a close, it was clear in Fans eyes that Till did enough to win the fight.
Hopefully with this win over Gastelum and a nervous debut in a new division, Till now can shake of those demons that haunted him with his last two fights.
Rebuild.Reset.Attack. This win will give Till the confidence that he lost and now that he's back in the win column Till is now on the right track again. A new start for him and it's hard not to doubt that he is in the right divsion now.
This is the Resurrection of Darren Till.
Get ready to Witness "The Gorilla" claim his rightful position again at the top.
Marc
Meepmma/52ndmma
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