Darren Till is staying put. BKFC president David Feldman told MMA Fighting that the promotion holds options on the former UFC title challenger’s next several bouts, and MMA Sucka reported that Till is set for a long-term run under the bare knuckle banner. “There is going to be a longer relationship with BKFC and Darren Till,” Feldman said, adding that he gets along well with both Till and his management.
The original paper was a three-fight deal, and per Bloody Elbow, Till still has one fight left on it. Feldman built some flexibility into the arrangement because, in his words, there are a fight or two outside BKFC that could mean a huge payday for the Liverpool fighter. The obvious one was Jake Paul. Till and Paul were deep in boxing negotiations before Paul turned around and booked PFL welterweight Cedric Doumbe instead, leaving Till without a December date. Feldman said that if BKFC has a fight ready for him, he fights for BKFC first. If the promotion would have to sit him for eight or nine months, Feldman said it was only fair to let him chase outside money.
That doesn’t look like it’ll be necessary. Till, 33, is 2-0 in the BKFC ring, most recently beating Yoel Romero at BKFC 94 in September. Feldman told Bloody Elbow that talks to bring an event to Anfield, the home of Liverpool Football Club, are very serious and expected to move forward. The connection is real: Fenway Sports Group owns both Anfield and Fenway Park, where BKFC ran a show this past August. Till has talked about fighting at Anfield for years, back when he pictured a UFC belt making it happen.
“We’re going to have some big names for Darren Till in the mix very, very shortly,” Feldman told MMA Fighting. “One of them will be part of our announcement we’re going to make in the next couple weeks.”
The name that keeps coming up is Tommy Fury. Till and Fury were booked to box in 2025 until Fury withdrew, and Bloody Elbow reported that BKFC has been talking with Team Fury about signing him. Till didn’t exactly grease the wheels. On the Ariel Helwani Show this past Monday, he said his manager had asked him to apologize to John Fury for past comments, and he refused, saying he wouldn’t do it even with a £10 million fight against Tommy on the line. Feldman’s reaction was resigned: “I don’t think Darren did us any good last night blasting Tommy Fury and John Fury on the podcast but it’s business and everyone’s in it to make money.”
There’s also a fellow Scouser waiting. Feldman said former WBA super middleweight champion Rocky Fielding messaged him asking for the fight, though Feldman was careful to say he wasn’t committing to it. Fielding, who lost to Canelo Alvarez by third-round body shots in 2018, has traded online jabs with Till since Till left the UFC. BKFC 100 and the next KnuckleMania both land in 2027, and with Conor McGregor (a BKFC part-owner since 2024) now saying he wants to go bare knuckle after his final UFC fight next summer, the promotion suddenly has a lot of reasons to keep Till close.
My take: this is the right home for him. Till spent years in the UFC as a talented guy whose body and timing never quite cooperated, and BKFC has given him something the Octagon rarely did, which is a promotion building events around his hometown instead of asking him to fit into theirs. Fielding at Anfield is the fight I’d want, two Liverpool lads in front of their own city. Fury is the fight that’ll sell. Feldman says we’ll know which one within two weeks.
