Former UFC star Darren Till backtracked on fighting Mike Perry after watching Perry spar Sean Strickland.
The years-long feud between former UFC stars Darren Till and Mike Perry has reached a boiling point in recent weeks over rumored fight talks between them and Misfits Boxing. Perry, who hasn’t fought in combat sports since a pro boxing loss to Jake Paul last summer, is planning on a return to fighting later this year.
Now that both Till and Perry are no longer on the UFC roster, the chances of them settling their beef in either the ring or cage have increased in recent years. But Perry has repeatedly accused Till of declining numerous fight offers to compete in Bare Knuckle FC, where Perry is the face of the promotion.
As Perry ponders the next chapter of his fighting career, he’s keeping active in hopes of a booking coming to fruition, and sparred one of the UFC’s top stars earlier this week.
Split image of Darren Till at the UFC 282 press conference, opposite Mike Perry walking out for his boxing match with Jake Paul. Credit: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images/Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLCDarren Till cancels Mike Perry negotiations after watching Sean Strickland spar
Perry and former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland got some work in at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. During Perry’s visit to the gym, he and Strickland got after it in a wild sparring session between two of the brashest personalities in combat sports.
While Strickland and Perry didn’t hold back in their sparring match, the two fighters share mutual respect for each other after going toe-to-toe in the gym. Footage of Perry and Strickland’s sparring session went viral on social media on Tuesday after Perry ‘thanked’ Strickland for the impromptu scrap.
As the Perry vs. Strickland sparring session spread online, it didn’t take long for Till to notice, and wasn’t impressed but what he saw from his longtime rival.
In a recent post to X, Till sent a message to Misfits Boxing after watching Perry’s spar with Strickland.
“Oh god. Oh my f—— god. [Misfits Boxing] I no longer want to fight [Mike Perry] due to how s— he is, cancel all negotiations now for me please. Thank you!” Till posted.
Till signed with Misfits Boxing earlier this year to pursue a career in the ring, earning recent wins over Anthony Taylor and fellow UFC alumni Darren Stewart. After the win over Stewart, Till turned his attention towards potentially making the Perry fight finally come to fruition, but doesn’t seem as motivated as before after watching the sparring session.
Just weeks ago, Till and Perry went at it on social media in an X-rated exchange over a potential fight in Liverpool. Perry accused Till and Misfits Boxing of trying to ‘lowball’ him as he attempts to garner a massive paycheck for the fight.
The Darren Till/Mike Perry feud spans nearly a decade
As tensions between Till and Perry reach a boiling point, their feud spans nearly a decade, stemming from a post-fight altercation at UFC Gdansk following Till’s win over Donald Cerrone. The fight was then teased to come to fruition in the UFC, but the matchup never materialized, and the two fighters eventually parted ways with the promotion to explore other ventures.
After their altercation, Till went on to fight former UFC title challenger Stephen Thompson, winning by unanimous decision. Till would go on to lose in a UFC welterweight title matchup with Tyron Woodley at UFC 228.
As of this writing, Perry hasn’t responded to Till’s comments.