Since Mike Perry outscored Alex Oliveira at UFC Fort Lauderdale, “Platinum’s” resumed his campaign for a scrap with Darren Till. But, will the heavy-handed and outspoken fighter get his wish?
Perry returned to the win column on Saturday night by working his way to a decision victory over Oliveira. As most folks predicted would be the case, the bout was an absolute war, and it won “Fight of the Night” honors.
Well, a few months back, both Perry and Till let it be known that they were down to fight. So, following UFC Fort Lauderdale, Perry had this to say while discussing his next bout (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“I think the Darren Till fight’s a good fight,” Perry said. “He’s called me out in the Octagon, I just called him out in the Octagon, I think that’s good press for the UFC to put together. The fight makes sense. I used to not want to call people out who were coming off a loss, but you know what, you up in the top and you got that number next to your name? I’m gonna need that spot, so I’m gonna need that fight if it’s available.
“If not, the UFC will call with some ideas, I’m sure they got names and you know, it was—once I laid down, I was watching “Jacare” fight and I had some ice on my feet and legs and I took one off of my right leg and I put it on my cheek and my head, I went to get up and I couldn’t really move. I was just kind of standing still, like I can’t walk at all. But now the blood is flowing and I could walk, I just did like a little half-a-jog in the hallway out there.”
So, there’s little to no doubt that Perry – Till is a fight that a ton of fans would love to see. Both fighters are aggressive, dangerous strikers, and it’s a match-up that would almost certainly entertain and then some.
From a rankings perspective, however, there are reasons to question whether the fight will happen. Till is currently ranked #6 in the welterweight division, and Perry isn’t sitting in the top 15. That likely won’t change as a result of UFC Fort Lauderdale either. Oliveira also wasn’t ranked in the top 15, and Perry isn’t far removed from a loss to Donald Cerrone. If another top 15 ranked welterweight is available in the coming months, like say Leon Edwards, Santiago Ponzinibbio or Anthony Pettis, then Till’s camp would likely prefer those match-ups.
That said, Till is coming off consecutive losses to Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal. So, the British fighter doesn’t have the bargaining power he once had. If the UFC really wants to make Till – Perry happen, then you would think he’ll sign-on. After all, it wasn’t long ago when Till said he was interested in facing the American.
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