What Is Next For Darren Till after the Emphatic Middleweight Debut Against Kelvin Gastelum

UFC 244 is in the books now and it has opened up a ton of possibilities for the fighters who stepped into the octagon that night in MSG. Darren Till made his middleweight debut against Kelvin Gastelum on UFC 244 and he did everything right.

Darren Till came with a gameplan, he neutralized Gastelum something Adesanya could not do until the final rounds and he even showed us a few unexpected things such as engaging clinch with Gastelum who is a solid wrestler. Till was taken down by Gastelum in the third round, but he showed impressive techniques to get back up and make it a kickboxing fight for Gastelum and use the reach and size advantage. However, what’s next for both Darren Till and Kelvin Gastelum after the fight?

Let’s start with Kelvin Gastelum first. Right now Gastelum is on a two-fight losing streak. But he has not looked bad at all in his last two fights. He came very close to be the interim champion against Israel Adesanya. Although he was fairly dominated by Darren Till, he did not look bad at all and with a couple of wins Gastelum can find himself fighting for the title again. The fight with Robert Whittaker makes the most sense for Gastelum. Both of them were supposed to fight each other for the title before Whittaker pulled out due to injury and both of them are coming from a loss. If you consider rankings this fight does not make sense at all, however, considering the history between these two this fight will be beneficial for both the fighters.

Whittaker too needs a few wins before he can get another shot at the title and Gastelum will be the perfect opponent for him to do so. Other than Whittaker, Kelvin Gastelum can also rally for a fight with Jared Cannonier who does not have an opponent at the moment. A win over Cannonier would put Gastelum right back to the title picture for sure.

Darren Till needed this win against Gastelum. He was coming from two brutal losses at the welterweight, it was his debut at middleweight and he passed the test with flying colors against the former number 1 title contender of the division, However, the road will get tougher from here for Till. If he fights someone ranked above him then he has Robert Whittaker who is coming from a loss and Jared Cannonier who is on a reign of terror. Out of the two, the fight with Whittaker does make a compelling argument. Till already has won against Gastelum who gave a tough challenge to the current champion, Israel Adesanya. So if Till can go out there and do the same thing to Whittaker who lost to Adesanya recently then he is in a great spot for a title shot. However, fighting Yoel Romero or Jared Cannonier might be detrimental for Till considering how vicious both those fighters are.

It’s a new weight class for Darren Till and UFC should not repeat the mistake it did in the welterweight division by rushing Till to a title shot. Darren Till should fight a couple of more times before coming into the title picture. He is young, he has a ton of potential and he has finally found his suitable weight class. Till can also take a fight Derek Brunson who is a veteran of the division. Overall, Till is at a much better place right now than he was after his loss to Masvidal. Although it was the first fight for Darren Till at the middleweight division, it’s hard not to imagine him fighting Israel Adesanya in front of a sold-out stadium in England.