UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya and middleweight contender Darren Till appear to not be as cordial as once previously thought.
Till was in attendance to corner his friend, heavyweight contender Tom Aspinall, in the main event of UFC London. Following Aspinall's first-round submission of Alexander Volkov, Till jumped on top of the cage with Aspinall to bask in the energy of the raucous London crowd.
After watching the fight and the celebration, Adesanya wasn't happy watching Till join in the post-fight pleasantries. He blasted Till during a UFC London live reaction posted to his YouTube channel.
“Oh, sit down, Darren. It’s not your moment. Sit the f* down, it’s not your moment. Get the f* off.” (h/t MMA Fighting)
Adesanya is fresh off his latest title defense against Robert Whittaker at UFC 271 and is expected to face Jared Cannonier next. However, he's mentioned a potential matchup with Till happening if Till can get on another win streak.
Darren Till Responds To Israel Adesanya
After watching Adesanya's reaction to Till jumping on top of the cage at UFC London, Till responded in a post on his Instagram story.
“Adesanya you idiot, Tom Aspinall asked me to get on the cage with him," Till replied. "Keep looking down on me for my losses, brother, it’s all good. I’ll be here one day, you watch…
“You haven’t looked the best either in your last few fights. Stay off the cocaine, it’s not healthy for fighters…”
Till is planning on a return to the Octagon later in 2022, in a potential fight with Uriah Hall. He has predicted an "epic fight" between him and Adesanya being inevitable.
Adesanya has emerged as one of the UFC's top stars after earning the belt over Whittaker in their first matchup at UFC 243. He has gone on to earn wins over Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori, and Robert Whittaker in defending his title.
Meanwhile, Till has lost back-to-back fights to Whittaker and Derek Brunson since moving to middleweight. If he hopes to settle his beef with Adesanya in the Octagon, he'll need to get back in the win column for his 2022 debut.
Do you think we'll see Israel Adesanya vs. Darren Till in 2022?