Darren Till gives props to Colby Covington: ‘He’s actually a terrific fighter’

Darren Till refuses to jump on the Colby Covington hate train. Whilst the middleweight acknowledges the wrestler’s trash-talking, he praises Covington’s fighting skill.

During a UFC 244 pre-fight media day at the UFC Gym in Nottingham, England, Till recalled Covington’s dominant victory against Robbie Lawler in August.

“Look what he’s done to (Robbie) Lawler. A lot of people said Lawler wasn’t the same; I don’t feel like that,” said Till (via MMA Junkie).

“I feel like Colby was just too much for Lawler, so when you break a fight down … because people hate Colby so much and take what he says so personal, they just want (Kamaru) Usman to win. They’re not looking at Colby.

“Colby is actually a terrific fighter. Forget all the (expletive) he says because he’s just an idiot. He’s actually a terrific fighter.”

Covington is scheduled to fight the current welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman for the title at UFC 245 in December. Till is impressed with Covington’s skill but feels Usman has a slight upper-hand.

“I think if you put them both together, they’re the same fighter,” Till said.

“I think Usman has everything that Colby has, just a bit better. I think he’s got more power. I don’t know who’s got the bigger gas tank. I know that Colby has an unbelievable gas tank, so I think Usman just edges it.”

Darren Till is busy preparing for his upcoming middleweight bout against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244. He hasn’t ruled out a move back down to 170 lbs. in the future, but he is currently focused on beating Gastelum and bouncing back from his two losses against Jorge Masvidal and Tyron Woodley.

What do you think of these comments from Darren Till? Sound off in the comments below, and find out how to watch the upcoming fights here.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/22/2019.