Darren Till suffered MCL tear in the second round of Robert Whittaker fight at UFC Fight Island 3

UFC middleweight contender Darren Till suffered an MCL tear in the second round of his loss to Robert Whittaker on Fight Island last weekend.

“The Gorilla” went to war with “Bobby Knuckles” in Abu Dhabi last Saturday night, to the point where many fans and pundits couldn’t quite decide who had come out on top. In the end, Whittaker got the nod via unanimous decision, taking him one step closer to a shot at Israel Adesanya’s UFC Middleweight Championship.

However, as reported by ESPN, Darren Till’s head coach Colin Heron has revealed that there was another important factor in the main event fight.

“Torn MCL, doctors are amazed he was able to stand up for the last three rounds,” Till’s coach Colin Heron told ESPN, via text. “He is in a cast for six weeks then we’ll reassess, hopefully it will start to knit while immobilized.”

After taking some time to reflect on the defeat, Till himself issued a classy statement on Instagram.

“What a week,” Till wrote. “Just reflecting on my chess match of a fight with rob? Enjoyed the competition, Few things I hesitated on & should of capitalised. It was a close close match as everyone said, You could of gave it 3-2 me, 3-2 rob? Either way is completely right I feel! The 5th round the takedowns maybe didn’t count because I sprung back up each time therefore nullifying them… But I ain’t crying over spilled milk. Rob’s a terrific fighter & hats off to him, We will get it done again. As for me! I’ve got some time off from a certain knee from a certain someone… rob? I told you all before this fight that I’m just getting started and I meant it…I’m going to become the world champion. I’m going to become a legend. I’m going to become a role model for young aspiring fighters everywhere & I’m gonna raw dog as much as I can.

“As soon as I’m back this year I want to fight 2-3 times as quick as I can,” Till added. “Thanks for the support, thanks for the hate. Thanks for everything!! ADELASAGNE!!! I’ll see you soon boi. Thank you my team, my family & my friends for the support.”

While he may be taking some time off, many expect Till to come back firing as his quest to the top of the middleweight division continues.