Darren Till has candidly opened up about the 'terrifying' experience of going three rounds with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244.
The 26-year-old Liverpudlian returned to winning ways as he secured a split decision victory at Madison Square Garden in New York.
But Till revealed his mindset before and during the UFC clash and how he was cautious about suffering three consecutive defeats.
"I think I just had some demons I had to deal with after those losses," the 'Gorilla' said in a post-fight interview.
"As fighters, we don't talk about it, but I was just talking from my heart.
"Before I fought [Tyron] Woodley, I hadn't been beaten in my life in anything.
"I felt like a superhuman and then I got beat twice.
"Nowadays with media, you get slammed even more, so inside I was fighting a lot.
"To be totally honest, tonight I was terrified to get in there, just to do three rounds.
"After the first round, I was just like, 'What's wrong with you, Darren?' I knew I was one of the best.
"There's all this BMF talk going on and I just stepped up in weight and fought Kelvin Gastelum, the bulldozer of the middleweight division, so I'm just taking this a step at a time and I'm just happy to even be here."
Liverpool star Till, who has 18 wins in 21 professional MMA fights, has received a much-needed confidence boost with his victory over Gastelum.
He said that weight class "doesn't matter to me" and feels that he should be able to beat "any man over 70 kilos."
He continued: "You could come to me tomorrow and tell me I'm fighting the heavyweight champ and I'll do it.
"I know I'll go in there and probably get put in a coma, but I'll fight him, because I'm a man and a true fighter.
Advert
"I'm a BMF."
SPORTbible had the opportunity to catch up with Till ahead of UFC 244 and he revealed that he would love to set up a dream clash with Israel Adesanya at Anfield.
Topics: UFC News, MMA News, UFC 244, UFC, MMA, Darren Till
