Darren Till vows to ‘annihilate’ fellow UFC veteran in Friday boxing match

Former UFC contender Darren Till is set to return to the boxing ring this Friday, and he’s promising a violent spectacle once he steps through the ropes.

Till, 32, is set to meet fellow UFC veteran Darren Stewart, 34, in the main event of the Misfits Boxing 21 card in Derby, England.

On Thursday, the two Brits weighed in for their cruiserweight clash, and both successfully made weight. After hitting the scales, Till spoke briefly to announcer Ben Davis, and promised a high-action fight.

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“Obviously, I’m going to look to knock him out over eight rounds,” Till said (via MMA Fighting). “There’s not a lot to say. A lot of people are here for a lot of gimmicky shit, but I’m a violent motherf*cker and Darren’s a violent motherf*cker, so we’re f*cking coming for violence. It doesn’t matter about the respect. You all talk about, ‘respect, respect, respect,’ it’s not about that. This is fighting.

“We’re going to go in to f*cking absolutely annihilate each other and then we’re going to have respect after. That’s how fighting is, so a few people come here, a few of the things here tonight, it doesn’t always have to be about all bullsh*t. You’re still going to get violence tomorrow and that’s what you’re here for.”

Darren Till and Darren Stewart headline Misfits Boxing 21 boxing card

Darren Till fought for the UFC from 2015-2022. He spent most of that time competing in the welterweight division, where he fought once for the title, losing to champion Tyron Woodley by submission. After a shock knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal, Till moved up to middleweight. He won his first fight in the division, beating Kelvin Gastelum by decision, but lost his next three to Robert Whittaker, Derek Brunson, and Dricus Du Plessis. He has fought and won two boxing exhibition matches since leaving the UFC. First, he beat Mohammad Mutie, then Anthony Taylor, both by stoppage.

His opponent, Darren Stewart, fought 14 times for the UFC between 2016 and 2021. He went 5-7 with two no contests. Since leaving the UFC, he’s been competing in Cage Warriors, where he’s gone 4-2. This will be his boxing debut.

The Misfits Boxing 21 boxing card will also see reality TV star Chase DeMoor return to action. DeMoor will defend his heavyweight belt against Tanner Tolman.