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Dana White Sweating Over Darren Till Having to Make Weight on Sunday

Dana White
Dana White

UFC Fight Night 130 was supposed to be a milestone in Darren Till's career. He was supposed to lead the UFC into his hometown of Liverpool, England, where he would then fight and beat the UFC's No. 1 welterweight contender, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson.

That may happen, but even if it does, it won't be without an asterisk.

Stephen Thompson vs Darren Till - UFC Liverpool Face-Off
Stephen Thompson vs Darren Till - UFC Liverpool Face-Off

Till failed to make weight on Saturday, weighing 174.5 pounds, 3.5 pounds above the limit for a welterweight non-title fight. As part of the concessions to keep the fight intact, Till gave up 30-percent of his fight purse, but must also weigh-in again on Sunday at 1 o'clock local time, where he must not be heavier than 188 pounds. If he is, Thompson can call the whole thing off, and it's got UFC president Dana White a little bit nervous.

"Not the situation I was expecting to be in, right now, especially in his hometown," White told MMAJunkie following the ceremonial weigh-in on Saturday. "You shouldn't be missing weight in your hometown. Now, we gotta sweat this thing all night because he's got to weigh 188 pounds (Sunday) at 1 o'clock when he gets on the bus. Not a good position to be in."

To make matters worse, Till has said that 188 pounds on fight day is going to be a big ask for him, as he normally balloons up well past that mark by fight time.

If that happens on Sunday, the bout will be in Thompson's hands. He'll again have to decide if he'll take the fight as is, ask for further concessions, or simply call the whole thing off.

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"That's gonna be up to Wonderboy and his team," White said in response to what happens if Till doesn't make 188 pounds as required.

White, however, believes it's a fight that isn't simply an opportunity for Till, but also one for Thompson.

"Wonderboy is incredible and there's never been any debating that. But if you look at his title runs, sometimes you have to remind people why you're the number one ranked guy in the world."