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Darren Till puts focus on ‘legacy and greatness’ in stark terms before first UFC title shot
LOS ANGELES – If you’ve ever wondered what UFC fighters sacrifice in order to be the best in the world, welterweight title challenger Darren Till lays it out in pretty stark terms.
Till, 25, said his sole focus right now is “legacy and greatness.” Everything else, including relationships most people consider to be most important in life, fades into the background.
“You can’t have worries outside of this game,” Till told reporters backstage Saturday night at UFC 227 while discussing his fight against champ Tyron Woodley next month at UFC 228. “I’ve got a girlfriend who’s nearly seven months pregnant. I don’t really care. I’ve got a daughter in Brazil right now who I haven’t seen for one year. I don’t really care. I just care about legacy and greatness. That’s what I’m in this for.
“I’m not in this to make money, be a champion, leave. I’m in this for people to say at the end of it, ‘You were the greatest.’ That’s my only mentality. (Expletive) money, (expletive) everything else.”
It sounds cold, but Till (17-0-1 MMA, 5-0-1 UFC) has had to make some tough decisions to reach the point he’s at today. He left his native England for Brazil after being stabbed twice at a party. In Brazil, he got his then-girlfriend pregnant. And after four years, he went back to the U.K. to further his career.
“I’ll go back to her again and, it might sound boring, but it’s another obstacle,” Till told MMAjunkie last September. “It’s not easy being away from my daughter because I love her, and she’s my little bit of daylight. This is all for her and me and her mother, because I want us all to have a good life.
“When I see myself getting paid good money by the UFC, and I know my daughter is watching me on the TV, it’s all worth it in the end, to be away from her for that much time. It’s a big sacrifice, but it’s worth it.”
And while he readies himself for the biggest fight of his life set for Sept. 8 at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, he’s got to shut himself off to those closest to him.
For more on UFC 228, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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