A few months ago, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson really had no interest in facing Darren Till.
The matchup was first suggested by UFC president Dana White when he touted the company’s return to England except for one problem — he never bothered to ask Thompson about accepting the fight.
At the time, Thompson was coming off a lopsided win over Jorge Masvidal, he was nursing a pair of broken thumbs and he was targeting a top five ranked opponent rather than Till, who was sitting in the top 10 but only had one really quality win on his record when he defeated Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone last year.
The fight faded away but then just days ago it was announced that Thompson would travel across the pond to face Till in his hometown of Liverpool in a welterweight main event on May 27.
So what exactly changed that got Thompson interested in facing Till this time around?
“It was the fact that the fight with RDA [Rafael dos Anjos] wasn’t going to happen. I wasn’t going to be able to fight somebody in the top five but the fact that we’re going to be headlining in Liverpool, I think it’s going to be a huge card. I think it’s the first card in Liverpool and I’m excited to do that,” Thompson told MMAWeekly in an exclusive interview.
“Also, I’m excited to face another striker. Most of the guys I’ve fought in my MMA career have been wrestlers — Jake Ellenberger, Johny Hendricks, even Rory MacDonald is known for his wrestling and grappling, Tyron Woodley. I was super excited about the [Jorge] Masvidal fight cause he was a striker and here we go again. I think it’s going to be a chess match. Darren Till is turning heads. He finished [Donald] Cerrone, of course he was on a three fight losing streak. This guy is ranked No. 7 so at first it didn’t make sense to fight this guy, especially in his hometown, but I’ve fought in enemy territory before so I thought why not go out there and put on a show in front of the Liverpool fans.”
As it turns out prior to Till pulling off the upset last October and earning a first round knockout against Cerrone in Poland, Thompson had never really heard much about the Liverpool native.
Up to that fight, Till had gone 3-0-1 with a finish in only his UFC debut while going to a draw against Nicolas Dalby in his second fight.
“To be honest with you when they first mentioned his name, I had no idea who he was,” Thompson said about Till. “I had no idea who he was until he faced Cerrone. Some of the guys he’s faced in the UFC, I’ve never heard of.
“So I went back and watched some of his fights, he’s a big welterweight, heavy left hand, heavy left kick. He’s got great timing. After watching him fight, it’s going to be fun.”
As fun as the fight might be, Thompson is still admittedly a little disappointed that he’s not facing a higher ranked opponent that would put him closer to a potential trilogy with welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
Thompson knows he’s not going to get a title shot with one more win but a quality victory over another top five opponent would definitely put him that much closer.
That said, Thompson isn’t looking past Till and instead he plans to show the outspoken Scouser what it’s like to face the No. 1 ranked welterweight contender in the world.
“That’s what I’m out here to prove to everybody around the world — there are levels to this. I’m going to go out there and I’m going to do work. You’re going to see the difference in the level from No. 1 to No. 7,” Thompson promised.
“UFC’s giving him a chance so I know he’s going to come prepared and anybody in the UFC has a chance to knock you out. So I’m not going to take this guy lightly. I’m going to prove to everybody why I’m No. 1 and there are levels to this game.”
