Darren Till thinks Stephen Thompson was ‘forced’ into fight at UFC Liverpool, predicts early stoppage

Although Stephen Thompson hasn’t said as much, ‘Wonderboy’ clearly isn’t too thrilled about his matchup with Darren Till next weekend at UFC Fight Night 130 in Till’s hometown of Liverpool, England.

Thompson, a two-time welterweight title challenger, believes the Liverpudlian is over-hyped and doesn’t see what all the fuss is about.

Till, 25, believes Thompson was dragged kicking and screaming into negotiations for UFC Liverpool and predicts a first or second round stoppage in the main event.

“I think ’cause [Thompson] didn’t want to take this fight he’s been talking a bit more out of tame lately,” Till told MMAnytt in a recent interview, per BJPenn.com’s Drake Riggs. Not bad, ’cause you know, he’s not a shit talker, he’s not a bad person he’s a nice guy. But just ’cause I feel like he was forced into this fight he didn’t want to take it. But he’s still comin’, and he’s comin’to beat me on home turf and we’ll see, mate.

“I truly believe I’m gonna stop him in the second. It wouldn’t surpriseme if the first. I truly believe I’m gonna stop Stephen Thompson. He might say otherwise, you know, getoff me high horse, ‘kid, you’re not experienced like I am’. He can say what he wants to say.”

Till, who trains out of Team Kaobon, stormed into the top-ten welterweight rankings with his first-round stoppage of MMA veteran Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 118 and thinks age will play a big factor next Sunday.

Cerrone and Thompson are both 35, and Till thinks he’s too hungry and fresh to be stopped by a fighter ten years his elder.

“There’s no 35-year old man out there who can f-ckin’ last more than three rounds with a guy like me right now,” he said.

UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Till takes place next Sunday, May 27 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.