Former UFC welterweight title contender Darren Till has issued a challenge to ex-Manchester United defender Gary Neville – calling him out for an MMA fight. The 31 year old Liverpudlian, who made a name for himself in the UFC after joining the MMA organisation in 2015, has had victories over Donald Cerrone and Stephen Thompson before his first career defeat against Tyron Woodley in 2018.
Post that, the Brit only managed one win inside the Octagon – a decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum in 2019. Last year, Till decided to part ways with the UFC. On the other hand, Neville, the former England international, is considered one of the greatest full-backs in Premier League history. The 49 -year-old debuted for the ‘Red Devils’ in 1992 and went on to achieve numerous accolades at the top level.
He was part of the historic United team that won the treble in 1999 before retiring in 2011. Despite never expressing an interest in boxing or stepping into the MMA cage, Neville has found himself the target of a callout from ‘The Gorilla’, who alleges they have ‘Twitter beef. ‘ Speaking to Norske Bettingsider, Till said: “Gary Neville because me and him have had a Twitter beef. He doesn’t like me. Got a little bit of beef with Gary.”
“I don’t hate the guy. But yeah, it’d probably be Gary Neville or Cristiano Ronaldo, because he seems like a big, tough fellow, Cristiano. I’d like to see his speed and his power. Seems like a very explosive man. He’s obviously ripped to the gills, isn’t he? You know, he doesn’t drink Coca-Cola or anything like that. I need to take a leaf out of his book.”
After defeating Mohammad Mutie earlier this year in an exhibition bout, Till is currently preparing for his professional boxing debut against Tommy Fury next year. The clash between the pair will take place at the Co-Op Live in Manchester on Saturday, January 18.
Both men went toe-to-toe at a launch press conference earlier this monthwith security forced to step in. Till had threatened to kick Fury in the face if he was losing the fight. “At the end of the day, I can’t beat you, I’ll just kick you in the face in there,” Till said. “How about that? I’m a proper fighter, not a boxer. I don’t walk in a room like this and see boxing and go, ‘s***.’ I walk in, no one here is a threat to me,” he said.
“Not one person in this room, security, you, your dad are not a threat to me. I’m an MMA fighter, so if I want to kick you or elbow you in the face, I will, and no one can do anything about it.”
Fury retorted firmly: “Well that’s not going to happen is it Darren. Because we ain’t in the cage now, we’re in the boxing ring and you’re going to find out that boxing is very different to MMA.” Unperturbed, Till remarked confidently: “Well it obviously is, how are you going to stop me? If I’m losing the fight, I’m going to kick you straight in the face. You won’t know what’s hit you.”
