Darren Till ‘not retired’ following UFC 282 stoppage loss, ‘but I think I’m going to have a little bit of time off from the UFC’

Darren Till believes he’ll continue fighting, but he has some reflecting to do following his third straight loss.

Till was submitted in the third round by Dricus Du Plessis in the Fight of the Night at UFC 282 on Saturday in Las Vegas. After a completely one-sided opening round for Du Plessis, Till was able to turn the tide in the second during the back-and-forth battle, before the former KSW champion put the one-time UFC title challenger away in the final round.

Now 1-5 over his six most recent octagon appearances, Till took to Instagram to respond to the loss.

“You don’t always get what you want in this life,” Till said. “It’s tough. I’m f****** 29 now. I’ve been at the top of the sport since 2017, entered in the UFC in 2015.

“I’m not retired, this is not a retirement speech. I’m 29, that would be stupid to decide. I’m on a bit of a losing skid at the moment, I really am. I ain’t finding my right way at the moment, and it’s crazy because when I’m in the gym sparring with the best guys in the world, I really am in [my] element, and then I step in the octagon and I just can seem to put things together. Then I have moments — like the second round — when I’m untouchable, and then certain things happen.”

“The Gorilla” returned after a 15 month layoff on Saturday in his first appearance since being submitted by Derek Brunson in the main event of UFC Vegas 36 in September 2021. Prior to that, Till lost a competitive decision to former champ Robert Whittaker at UFC on ESPN 14 over a year earlier.

Till admits he has soul searching to do, but he’s not retiring following his most recent hiccup.

“I just want to say — whether you love me or hate me — I’m sorry,” Till explained. “I tried to put a show on, I never cut no corners. I do really train, [and] maybe I train too much. I train like a f****** man demented. The past 18 weeks I’ve given me all, and I’ve always given me all to this sport.

“Now, I don’t know what to do properly, but I think i’m going to have a little time off from the UFC, I don’t know, and just rethink stuff. I’m not retired, I want to fight, I want to fight next year, but now I just want to spend Christmas with my family, have a good time with my friends, and everybody who supports me, my team back home.

“I hope you enjoyed the fight and all, it was a bit of a war. Well done to Dricus,” Till continued. “I felt like I had him there, I was making him switch. He was very scared to stand and strike, that’s why he was shooting for them takedowns.”