Dana White discusses next opponent for Darren Till

UFC president Dana White spoke about the timetable for the return of middleweight star Darren Till and who could be the Brit’s next opponent when he returns.

Till recently teased a possible return at UFC 248, which takes place on March 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. There’s also been talk that Till could return at UFC London, which is set for March 21.

Speaking to TheMacLife, White spoke about what card Till could return on. Here’s what the UFC president said (h/t MMAjunkie.com).

“We’ve been talking to him and bouncing around with different opponents. We’ll have something for him very soon. It’ll either be London or Vegas,” White said.

White was also asked in the interview who Till could fight next. Coming off of a big win over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244 in his middleweight debut, Till is now ranked in the top-five at 185lbs and is in line for a big fight his next time out.

One possible opponent that has been bandied out is Jack Hermansson, who is ranked one spot below Till in the official UFC rankings. There’s been speculation Till could fight Hermansson next, but White said otherwise.

“Probably not (against Hermansson). We’ll see how this thing plays out. Yeah, one of the top guys,” White said.

The fact White said Hermansson likely won’t be next is intriguing. With Robert Whittaker fighting Jared Cannonier at UFC 248, Israel Adesanya likely defending the UFC middleweight title against Yoel Romero on the same card, and Paulo Costa out with an injury, Hermansson is the highest-ranked opponent currently available. So it made sense for Till to get matched up against him.

But with White saying Hermansson is not next for Till, perhaps the UFC is considering making another big move here and giving Till the title shot instead of Romero. We’ll soon find out.

Who would you like to see Darren Till fight in his return to the Octagon and on what card would you like to see him fight on?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/14/2020.