Darren Till’s next fight: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. confirmed for boxing debut

Darren Till, a former championship contender in the UFC, has been off the radar since abruptly leaving the company in 2023. What happened to Till?

Till’s story began in Liverpool as an embattled youth who regularly found himself in altercations with his peers — both verbally and physically.

The youngster found a positive way to channel this aggression by taking up Muay Thai classes. However, run-ins outside of the gym persisted.

Till’s coach urged him to move to Brazil, where he could train without distractions. The switch led to interest from several fighting promotions, with UFC CEO Dana White offering him a match at UFC Fight Night 67 in 2015.

The rising star dominated Wendell de Oliveira Marques en route to a stunning knockout victory debut, notching his first UFC win and opening the eyes of MMA fans worldwide.

He dealt with some injury setbacks and personal issues before cementing himself as a championship contender with a 2017 TKO vs. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.

Till met Tyron Woodley at UFC 228 for the welterweight title but lost the fight after Woodley cinched in a D’Arce choke in the second round — marking Till’s first official loss in MMA.

The England native struggled thereafter with a string of poor performances, including a submission loss to Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 282. That defeat would be the last time Till appeared in the UFC octagon.

What happened to Darren Till?

Till went on to lose four of his next five fights following the Woodley defeat and subsequently asked for his release from the UFC to pursue other endeavors in the combat sports world.

“The Gorilla” explained his thought process on an MMA Hour appearance, saying it was a personal decision to “get his s*** in order.”

Till later revealed in an ESPN interview that he wanted to get treatment on his injured knee, but he worried that this treatment might conflict with the UFC’s drug-testing policy.

Did Darren Till ever win a UFC championship?

No. Although Till fought Tyron Woodley at UFC 228 for the welterweight strap, the Liverpool native lost via submission and never got another chance at gold.

Is Darren Till a free agent?

Yes. According to Till, he is free to fight with any MMA promotion, per the stipulations of his UFC release.

However, Till says he promised himself that a rush back into mixed martial arts wouldn’t happen. Since leaving the UFC, multiple high-profile MMA promotions have offered him fights, but he’s turned them all down.

Rumors of potential boxing matches have been floating around, and the announcement of Till vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. confirms that will be the next step in the 31-year-old’s combat sports journey.

Will Darren Till ever return to the UFC?

If it is up to Till, he will return to the UFC as a much better version of himself, with his championship aspirations still as strong as ever.

In a recent interview, Till let UFC fans know that a return to the company is in the cards. “I don’t think the door’s closed,” he said. “The long game and the long goal is to return to the UFC and obviously return correctly.”

He says the relationship between himself and Dana White is alive and well, so Till expects to fight again in the UFC before it’s all said and done.

Who is Darren Till fighting next?

Till will battle former boxing world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in his professional boxing debut on the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson fight card.

Till’s been training heavily in boxing since stepping away from the UFC with the approval of White, promising to take over that sport after being a high-profile contender in MMA for the better part of a decade.

His opponent, Chavez Jr., owns a sparkling 53-6-2 record in 61 career professional bouts, providing a stark contrast to the rookie boxer Till. The Liverpool native acknowledges it’s a tall task in his debut, but he’s ready to face the challenge.

Till promises to knock Chavez Jr. out in two rounds, and then he has sights set on Jake Paul. He told Ariel Helwani that the ultimate goal is to “bring an end” to influencer boxing.

Following the postponement of Paul vs Tyson, Till will have to wait a little bit longer to make good on this promise. The card was initially planned for July 20, but a reschedule date for the card hasn’t been revealed yet.

According to Paul, Tyson’s camp has asked for the bout to happen in “Q4 of the year,” meaning that fans should expect the new date to fall between October and December 2024.

It remains to be seen when the matchup will happen, but Till knows the exposure he will receive from fighting Chavez Jr. is a game-changer for building his boxing brand.