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‘This is elite-level MMA’ – PFL champion Brendan Loughnane points to level of opposition after Darren Till suffers third straight loss at UFC 282
Newly crowned PFL champion Brendan Loughnane insists Darren Till ‘will be back’ despite a third straight defeat at UFC 282.
The Gorilla, who trained with Loughnane in Thailand ahead of his latest fight, gave a decent account of himself but ultimately suffered a third-round submission defeat in Las Vegas this past weekend.
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Prior to UFC 282, the 29-year-old was riding a two-fight losing skid and had recorded just one win in his last five UFC bouts – a split-decision victory against Kelvin Gastelum in 2019.
Till’s recent run of poor form has been compounded by a spate of serious injuries that include a recurring knee problem that reared its ugly head on Saturday night.
However, the man who cornered him at UFC 282 refused to make any excuses and simply gave Dricus du Plessis his due credit following an impressive display in his biggest fight to date.
“We had a great training camp, and he was just unfortunate,” Loughnane told talkSPORT.
“He had Dricus on the back foot in the second round, he’s a big, strong middleweight who managed to weather the storm and come back in the third round.
The 33-year-old believes Till’s recent run of poor results is simply down to the level of opposition he’s been fighting and he is confident the scouser will return to form after a well-earned rest.
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Loughnane added: “This is elite MMA, sometimes you’re the hammer, sometimes you’re the nail, but he’ll be back for sure.
“Darren has been fighting the best in the world for the last five years.
“I mean, the run that he’s been on is hard. Wonderboy, Tyron Woodley, Kelvin Gastelum, and Robert Whittaker. Come on, it’s just the elite of the elite.
“It’s time for Darren to have some family time now and reset the clock.”
Till has indicated that he will take some time away from MMA but insists he will not be retiring any time soon despite finding sporting success tough to come by in recent years.
The premier promotion in MMA returns to London on March 18 for UFC 286.
However, it now seems highly likely that Till will compete on that card after previously missing out on two epic UK UFC shows in 2022.
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