UFC middleweight Darren Till was injured in his right knee and went into the main event against Derek Brunson. His head coach confirmed this to ESPN Wednesday.
Colin Heron, Till's head coach, said that Till (18-4-1), tore his ACL nine weeks prior to the fight. Despite being advised by doctors and Heron, the 28-year old decided to continue with the fight. Brunson defeated Till in the third round by submission, in a heavy grappling match.
Heron stated that the incident occurred nine weeks ago, during wrestling. "We had it scan and looked at carefully. The results showed that the ACL was completely torn. He's out! This was my advice and that of the doctors. Recover. It is impossible to do nothing. Surgery is essential. No running, no fast movement, no impact.
Darren Hill lost to Derek Brunson by submission in round three on Sept. 4. However, his coach said that Hill had a torn ACL right knee and went in with it. Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
"Darren, being Darren, said that he would give it two weeks to see if I can run and hit pads. "Darren being Darren, he said, "Can we give it two weeks and see if I can start running and hitting pads?" And I was like, "No, not really." It's not possible to repair a torn ACL by itself. Talk about surgery, then six months of rehabilitation. He'll convince me to do it before I know it. The only thing I can do is support him in whatever way he chooses. If he doesn't want to follow my advice, then I have to support him. I cannot disown him. We made the most of it.
Till, from Liverpool, England is currently in Las Vegas, where Brunson's fight took place. A scan will be done Wednesday to determine if Till sustained any further damage to his knees during the fight. Heron stated that Till will not be able to have surgery until a date is set, but that they expect Till to have the procedure to fix his knee as soon as possible.
Till hadn't fought since October 2020, so Saturday's bout was his first fight since then. In a unanimous loss to Robert Whittaker, Till sustained a knee injury. Due to a fractured collarbone, Till had to withdraw from a bout against Marvin Vettori scheduled for April.
Heron stated, "You can't critique his bravery. You can only criticize that decision -- the gamble which didn't pay off." This was a difficult decision. He hadn't fought for a while. Next thing you know, a card was created around him. It was rumored that it would be in London. If Till was not there, then there might not even be a card. There were others who wanted him to fight on that card. It's a lot pressure. He is one of those guys that says "F--- it." Let's do it.'"
Till's return is not expected to occur in the immediate future. A typical recovery time for a torn ACL is between nine and twelve months.
