Darren Till targets “magician vs. magician” fight with Israel Adesanya

UFC middleweight contender Darren Till is hoping for a fight with the division’s reigning champ, Israel Adesanya, in the near future.

Till is slated to battle Italy’s Marvin Vettori on April 17. While that contest is currently his sole focus, he admits he’s intrigued by the prospect of a fight with Adesanya further down the road.

“I think me and Marvin are knocking on the door,” Till told ESPN ahead of his fight with Vettori (via Farah Hannoun). “It’s like a little mini-middleweight competition right now, the same as lightweight, so it definitely excites me. To just be at the top and to be getting these chances and knowing what’s next and all that – but I’ve got a steamroller in front of me, and I don’t want to look too far ahead. I know Izzy’s calling me out, practically, and stuff like that. I’ve called him out for a long time. We were destined to fight even when I was a welterweight. He called me out then, when I was at the top of welterweight.

“Right now, I’m just focused on myself,” Till added. “I’m doing my own thing. But this is the thing: I think it’s one of these fights with me and Izzy, I think it’s magician vs. magician. Who’s got, like, the Kryptonite to beat the other guy’s striking, you know? I’ve said it for the longest time, I’m one of the best strikers in the UFC. And I think Izzy is definitely there. He could be ahead the way’s he’s been fighting – he’s ahead of me right now.”

As Till suggests, he and Adesanya are two of the best strikers in the UFC at present. There’s would be a fascinating fight on paper, and Till believes he has the skills to win it.

“I just feel like I’ve got the specifics to beat him, and I’m sure he’s up for the challenge and he thinks he’s got the specifics to beat me, so I think it’s going to be a good fight when it happens,” Till said. “It’s good to be getting called out by the champion. Usually, it’s the challengers calling out the champion. The champion’s calling me out. I must be doing something right.”

Who do you think would come out on top in a fight between Darren Till and Israel Adesanya?